Hanging By a Moment
by Alexandra Khayman
Summary: The Red Ranger never thought that he could actually fall in love. But a twist of fate proves him wrong.
1. Chapter 1: Ashley's Birthday

Hanging by a Moment

By

AlexandraKhayman

**Summary:** The Red Ranger never thought that he could actually fall in love. But a twist of fate proves him wrong

Hanging By a Moment

Chapter 1 – Ashley's Birthday

It was a quiet morning in the Megaship. Everyone was still asleep, except the Yellow Ranger. After a very relaxing bath, Ashley Hammond was getting dressed, to begin a very special day and to go celebrate it later, with her friends. She was turning 17 and her whole life seemed perfect: she was the Yellow Space Ranger (as she dreamt when she was a little girl), she had the best friends and family in the universe and she was falling in love! And that last reason was, at the same time, a good and a bad thing. Because Andros, the Red Ranger, and the most beautiful person she had ever seen (and the shyest one too!) was right there… but always so distant.

"I mean, I know that he had been alone the past few years… and he saw his sister being kidnapped. He has a lot of anger against himself because he thinks it was his fault… but I just wanna help him! Give him my love. Try to heal that wound that have been open, and remain open, after all this time!" – Ashley sighed as she left her bedroom and went to the bridge.

"Good Morning Alpha! Good Morning DECA!" – Ashley greeted.

"Ai, yi, yi. Happy Birthday Ashley." – said Alpha, as he went to give her a big hug and a box.

"Oh Alpha… you shouldn't have!"

When she opened the package, there was a little music box inside it. It was yellow (of course) and had a white draw of a morpher. As she pushed the button, a soft melody echoed in the room.

"We hope you enjoyed it Ashley." – DECA said.

"Well, I don't know what to say… thank you so much!"

"You're welcome."

Ashley nodded, and then turned back and went to get something for breakfast. As the synthetron was making her cornflakes, she thought; "That was so sweet… I wish Andros would be that enthusiastic with my birthday". Then, she realized how stupid she was being. "Dammit Ashley, you're being too selfish…" – she muttered aloud.

"Are you talking to yourself Ashley?" – a familiar voice asked.

"Oh Andros… you were there! Don't worry; I'm not getting crazy… I was just thinking." – She said quickly, as she saw the weird look in his eyes.

"Ok." – He nodded, and then turned around and left.

Ashley sat down and started eating. Ten minutes later, she was finished and went to see her parents, back on Earth.

"DECA, tell the others I'll meet them in the park."

"Acknowledged." – DECA replied.

Ashley teleported herself to Angel Groove, thinking about the day she first met Andros…

**(Later That Day)**

Ashley was sitting in her bed, looking at her new necklace. She smiled; when she remembered the speed of her heartbeat, the time Andros gave her his birthday present.

_**(Flashback)**_

"**_Happy Birthday Ashley." – Andros said and gave her a little yellow box._**

"_**Wow…"**_

"**_The stone's a rare gem from KO-35… I hope you liked it."  
_**

"_**I love it…thank you!" – She smiled, as she gave him a big hug. **_

(End Flashback)

"I love it… I really do." – Ashley sighed, as she looked at the brightening yellow gem in the middle of the pendent.

Now she was confused: after that sweet moment, he had gone back to his distant status. "What the hell is happening between us?" – Ashley wondered.

In the next room, Andros was lying down on his bed, staring at the roof and thinking about his actions, a few hours early. "She must've been thinking I'm an idiot! I gave her that necklace and she was so happy. Then I realized she was only being nice… of course! But I feel so nervous and strange when I'm around her… What's happening with you Andros?"

A/N: My first story ever! First chapter is dedicated to **Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow**, who encouraged me to start writing and give me some help and advices. Thank you so much! Review please.


	2. Chapter 2: Evil Attacks

Chapter 2: Evil Attacks

"Finally… I was almost getting crazy in there." – Carlos said, relieved, when they left the High School, after their last class of the day. "I hate French!" he added.

"Yeah Carlos, we know it… you say the same thing every Wednesday." - T.J. commented as they all laughed. "Hey guys… let's get a drink at Surf Spot."

They agreed. That would be a nice way of forgetting French, or better saying, High School in general.

"Ashley, you've been very quiet… is something wrong?" - Cassie asked when they arrived.

"No, Cass. Everything's okay. I was thinking about Astronema and Dark Spector. They've been very calm lately. I'm worried."

"Girls, Carlos and I will get our drinks. What do you want?"

"For me, it can be an Orange Juice." – Ashley answered.

"And I want a hot chocolate."

When the boys went pick up the drinks, Cassie asked again - "Are you really sure everything's okay Ash? Since yesterday, you've been acting weird…"

"Really Cassie. It's just preoccupation. Believe me, I'm fine… Is really hot in here, isn't it?" – Ashley said, as she took off her sweater.

"Hey Ash! New necklace? Birthday present I assume…" – Carlos said when he and T.J. sat next to the girls.

"Yes. My… uh brother gave it to me." – Ashley blushed.

They all laughed at her embarrassment. Clearly, it hadn't been her brother's gift.

"Unless Nick had changed is name to Andros recently and he is the Red Ranger, I don't know why are you blushing." – Cassie commented.

"Oh, don't be silly!"

"Why didn't you tell us? Soon we may have not one, but two rangers leading us, and giving orders… I might want to run while I'm still able to!" – T.J. joked.

"I didn't tell you because it was only a gift, nothing more than that. I didn't think it was that important."

"Yeah, right… Like we would bite that, Ash."

"Really. Nothing is happening. And if it happens, I won't tell you before I start giving orders. T.J., you're doomed!" – Ashley replied.

"Oh man!" – T.J. muttered.

"Speaking of the devil… Where's Andros?" – Carlos asked

"I guess he stayed o the Megaship. He had to fix his Galaxy Glider or something like that. At least, he told me that. But maybe, Ashley knows better, right Ash?" – Cassie answered

"Oh shut up guys! Stop it."

Suddenly, their morphers beeped. They got up and went to the place next to the bathroom, here there was nobody.

"What is it Alpha?"

"Rangers, Darkonda is attacking Angel Grove. You need to get there, near the library. Andros went there, but he's alone and there are lots of quantrons." – Alpha informed.

"We're on our way."

"You ready? LET'S ROCKET!"

**(A Few Moments Later)**

The Rangers arrived to the battlefield. The quantrons have pinned Andros, and Darkonda was torturing him.

"ANDROS!" – They shouted.

They fought the quantrons to get near him. "Andros are you okay? You should've waited for us" – Carlos said.

"That guy kidnapped MY sister… I am the one who has to deal with him. ALONE!" – Andros replied, angrily, as he stood up and ran after Darkonda.

Ashley thought, _"Here we go… that stupid "I work alone" thing again..."_

"Andros don't. Come back here!" – T.J. shouted. However, Andros had left.

Soon, the four rangers were surrounded by quantrons. They had to focus their attention on them, so they didn't see where Andros and Darkonda had gone. While they were trying to get rid of the enemies, Andros followed Darkonda to a garden, near the library.

"This is your last shot, Red Ranger. Or you stand back now, or I'll kill you right here, right now." – Darkonda warned.

"You wish! I know you kidnapped Karone, so tell me… where is she?"

Darkonda laughed at Andros – "Did you really think I would tell you? Are you that stupid? I mean, I know you're not too smart… but this?"

"Don't play with me Darkonda… I'll ask again: Where is Karone?"

"I will never tell you. So, try to kill me! You will never know where she is, both ways"

Andros lost his patience and attacked Darkonda. The monster escaped and the two of them exchanged punches and kicks, until Darkonda threw a blaster to Andros.

The Quantrons heard the sound of a blaster and got back to the Dark Fortress… Darkonda brought them only to attract the Rangers and keep their attention, for him to finish with the Red Ranger, so their job was done.

When the Rangers heard it, they ran to try to find their friend. Only a few meters further from there, they saw how Darkonda, using his powers, lifted up a weakened Andros and threw him away, like he was trash.

"OH NO!" – Ashley screamed, desperately. Andros went towards a tree, right in front of them, then fell down, and demorphed. They could see bruises and cuts in his body… and he had almost fainted.

"So… I'm going to kill you in front of your friends. What an excellent time to say goodbye, don't you think?"

A/N: Second Chapter! Thanks for the reviews to the first one. This chapter is dedicated to **Arwennicole**, for all the support and help, and for being such an inspiration. Thanks! Review please!


	3. Chapter 3: Fighting To Live

Chapter 3: Fighting to Live

"_This can't be happening…"_ – Andros thought. He was going to die in a few minutes, not knowing here his sister had been in the last ten years. He felt his power left him, slowly. _"They can't see me dying... I have to do something to get them out of here!"_

He tried to get up, but he had lost his strength. He leaned back against the tree and looked around to see four stunned faces. They tried to finish with Darkonda, but he had pinned them all. They tried to save him, now was his time to save them.

He reached his morpher - "DECA, teleport the Rangers to the Megaship… NOW!" The Rangers disappeared.

Darkonda laughed. "You're so proud, that you can't stand the fact you'll die in front of your friends… you really are ridiculous! However, for me, that's okay. No matter if you're alone or have company… I'll kill you."

"We'll see. SPIRAL SABER!"

Despite the fact that he could barely stand up, Andros fought with all he had left. The only thing that passed through his mind now was finding Karone and taking her back home. _"I need to find her. I will find her"_.

That thought kept him alive for the past years… it would keep him alive now, too.

**(Meanwhile, on the Megaship)**

"DECA, are you crazy? Did Alpha reprogram you with a new stupidity chip or what?" – Ashley asked, furious. "Don't you understand we need to get back? Andros is dying out there!"

"Ashley, you should try to calm down." – Cassie advised.

"I don't want to calm down. Darkonda is beating the hell out of him, and instead of staying there to help Andros, we are teleported here? We're a team! What kind of team leaves a teammater, and most of all, a friend, behind?"

"Andros was the one that ordered me to take you back" – DECA said.

"What?" – T.J. asked. "Explain it DECA."

"Yes. When Darkonda pinned you four down, Andros ordered me to take you back to the Megaship. He doesn't want you to watch him die."

"Well, I'm getting back there, now. And you, damn computer, don't try to stop me!" – Ashley hissed.

"Wait, Ash. We're going with you." – Carlos shouted. Nevertheless, Ashley was already gone.

**(Back in Angel Grove)**

Andros had fallen down again and Darkonda had taken his Spiral Saber far away from him. Using his telekinesis, he tried to reach it, but he was too weak.

"So this is it… Newsflash Red Ranger: Your sister is, in fact, alive. Now goodbye!"

Suddenly, a yellow blaster hit Darkonda. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to kill me first, you monster!"

Andros was stunned - "Ashley, what are you doing here? I told DECA to teleport you to the Megaship." He whispered. He was so tired he could barely speak.

"I'm here to try to convince you that we're a TEAM! Stop your stupid 'I work alone' thing… there are five of us, and together we will do it. We'll find Karone." – Ashley kneeled next to him. "So, let's do it?" – She asked, as she gave him his morpher.

Andros looked deep into her eyes. "Yeah… LET'S ROCKET!"

A/N: Here's another Chapter. Review please! I know that I'm slow at uploading but I've been busy with school and so. Sorry


	4. Chapter 4: The Next Morning

Chapter 4: The Next Morning

Andros woke up, the morning after, in the infirmary. He had a huge headache and, when he lifted his hand to touch his head, he saw bruises and cuts all over his arm. He tried to get up.

"Where do you think you're going?" – Cassie entered the room.

"Cassie… what happened?" – Andros asked.

"Don't you remember? Well, Ashley went back there. When we arrived, Darkonda had blasted the two of you and left. She's right there… we found you two uncounscious." – Cassie sighed.

Andros turned to his right side, to see Ashley lying on a bed, as if she was asleep. "Oh Ashley… what have he done?" – Tears were coming down of his eyes.

"The blaster caused her to demorph and, then, he did the same thing he had done to you… he threw her into a tree." – T.J. informed.

"It was my entire fault." – Andros said painfully.

"No, Andros. You were knocked out!"

"Yes, it was. She went there to try to save me. Darkonda was about to kill me and she risked herself to save me. I was too weak to defend her. Now she is lying on that bed, in a coma. Because of me…"

"We scanned her. She will be fine in a few days. Now, you should get some sleep…"

The Rangers left the room. Andros leaned back on his bed, after taking one last look at Ashley. _"Darkonda, you pay for this… It will cost you a lot. You already took my sister; you'll not take the woman I love"._

Then, he fell asleep again.

**(Dark Fortress)**

Astronema was talking with Dark Spector. "The Yellow Ranger is out, and the Red Ranger is weak. My lord, we're almost there… it's time to unleash the Psycho Rangers. They're ready."

"You're right Astronema. That dumb Darkonda got it done well this time. I hope the Psycho's can finish with the Power Rangers once and for all…"

**(In The Megaship)**

The three healthy Rangers were talking on the bridge. "Andros is really devastated… should we inform him that Zhane is healing?" – Carlos wondered.

"We could try. However, I don't think that it will take off the guilt he is feeling…" – Cassie explained.

Suddenly, DECA advised them: "Rangers, there are changes in Zhane's condition. It's better if you go there."

"Alright DECA. We're coming".

They entered the room where Andros had placed the cryogenic tube. T.J. ran a scan over the Silver Ranger. After that, he said something that got them all stunned.

"He's waking up. He's healed!"

A/N: 4th Chapter. Review please!


	5. Chapter 5: Meeting Zhane

Chapter 5: Meeting Zhane

"Andros! Andros, wake up." – Cassie's voice came to rescue him from a terrible nightmare.

"Hey… what happened?" – Andros asked when he saw a worried look in her face.

"You will not believe this… but Zhane's awake." – She smiled.

"WHAT?"

"Yes… he's healed. Andros: Zhane's back!"

Andros couldn't believe it. His best friend, his 'brother' was there again. "May I go there, Cassie? I want to see him."

"Are you feeling better?" – Cassie asked.

"Yeah. And I'll feel much better when I see him."

Cassie helped him stood up and they went to Zhane's room, to meet the others. As they passed by Ashley's bed, Cassie noticed that Andros sighed deeply and they stopped for a minute. "I'll be right back Ash" – he whispered. Then, they continued.

When they got there, Carlos and T.J. were talking about what was happening. As they saw Andros, both looked at him and smiled. "He's healthy again. He will be awake any minute now."

"Finally... I was starting to lose hope."

The computer beeped. They looked to the Silver Ranger, as he got demorphed and opened his eyes. Zhane looked around, before fixing his eyes on Andros'. "Andros… is that you? Where are we? Who are they?" – He questioned.

"Well… First: yes, it's me. Second: we're in the Megaship, in space. Third: they are my friends. They're Power Rangers too…"

"Oh. Hi! Sorry about that…" – Zhane greeted.

"No problem. Hi! I'm T.J." – T.J. smiled. "And they're Cassie and Carlos".

"Hey! Nice too meet you, Zhane." – Both said.

"Hi!" – Zhane turned his attention to his friend - "What happened? Last thing I remembered, we were fighting on KO-35… How come I woke up in here?"

"Well, you were seriously injured in that fight, two years ago. You have been healing in that cryogenic tube since then. I had hoped you would wake up one day." – Andros sighed, before continuing his explanation – "Our home planet is now deserted… since that day, when Dark Spector attacked us."

"No. Really? I was asleep for two years? That is too much… And you? What happened to you? Seems like you've been beaten or so…" – Zhane asked.

Andros didn't answer. Seeing that he was so reluctant to answer his question, Zhane looked over to his new friends (he knew that he could already call them that!) trying to get them to tell him.

"Well, Andros and Ashley, who is the Yellow Ranger, got in a fight against Darkonda, yesterday. They were helpless and were knocked out. Now, he's is as you can see, and Ashley is in the infirmary, in a coma." – Carlos resumed the story.

"Because of me." – Andros added in a lower voice.

Zhane, who has been sitting in the tube, got up and hugged his best friend. "Don't say that. I know you too well to know that is impossible you to hurt someone. Moreover, if she is a friend. It was not your fault Andros! Now, can I see her? I want to meet the last of my new mates."

"Yeah, of course. Come, we will show you the Ship and tell you everything you need to know." – Cassie invited, with a smile.

"Let's go. I am anxious to recover the past two years. Plus, I'm hungry!"

All of them laughed. Even Andros. It was so good to have Zhane back. He stayed back, thinking about all that he and Zhane had done together since they were kids. He was able to forget, for moments, what he had done to Ashley.

"Andros come! I want to hear all that happened while I was 'asleep'." – Zhane's voice woke him up of his thoughts. "Hey nice robot! What's you name?"

"Ai yi yi! I'm Alpha. I am glad to see that you are healthy again Zhane. DECA, say 'hi' to Zhane. He is the newest member of our team. One goal, one team known as the Power Rangers. Yuppi!"

"Eheheh… seems like everybody was enthusiastic to meet me. I knew I had that effect on women, but not on robots." – Zhane joked.

"If I recall, robots wouldn't be anxious to meet you. Neither would women" – Andros replied.

A/N: 5th Chapter. Hope you like it! Review please.


	6. Chapter 6: Waking Up

Chapter 6: Waking Up

A few days had passed. Ashley was still in coma and Andros was almost healthy again. The Forces of Evil had been very quiet, and they still didn't know that Zhane was back.

That morning, they were all having breakfast. Zhane was happy for being accepted so well by the others and Andros was glad to have his friend back. The only thing that was still haunting him was what happened to Ashley. And Darkonda, of course.

"Hey, this Earth drink is good… how is it called?"

"Hot Chocolate. It's the most tasteful and sweet drink in the whole universe!" - Cassie answered.

Andros sighed. _"It's Ashley's favourite drink too… when will she be awake again?"_ – he wondered.

"Rangers, a disturbance has been detected him Angel Grove." – DECA warned.

"Well, bye bye quiet breakfast. Let's go"

"Whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going Mister?" – Carlos asked.

"I'm going with you guys." – Zhane answered.

"No, no. I don't fight in over two years. You stay here and take care of the ship. Alpha, keep an eye on him!"

"Alright Andros. You won!" – Zhane agreed. "Be careful you". Then, he and Alpha went to the bridge. The others slid through the jump tubes.

Minutes later, they were watching the Rangers fighting against those new creatures. And they were losing it.

"I need to get there, Alpha. Can't you see? They are only four and those creatures have them studied. They need my help."

"I'm sorry Zhane, but Andros is right. I don't fight for a long time and you're still not completely recovered. You must stay here."

"Okay. I'll stay." – Zhane said, reluctant. "I'm going to check out how's Ashley."

In the next room, a weak and dizzy Ashley had woken up. She was sitting in the bed and looking around. Suddenly, she saw a strange face. _"Someone took our ship."_ – she thought. "Who are you? Where are the others?" – she questioned and reached for her morpher.

"Calm down Ashley. I'm Zhane, the Silver Ranger. I woke up a few days ago, and you've been in a coma for the last week. I'm a friend." – he answered. "The others are down there, on Earth, in a place called Angel something. Don't need to worry, I won't hurt you."

"Zhane?"

"Yeah it's me. If you want, I can get Alpha in here, for you to know that I'm telling the truth…" – he told her.

"No, no I believe you. Sorry. I'm a little bit confused. What happened to me?"

"Well, I think that you went help Andros when he was fighting against Darkonda. The other rangers told me that, by the time they arrived there, the two of you had been pinned down. They brought you back to the ship, and you've been in a coma since then. I'm glad you finally woke up. We're getting really worried about your condition."

"I'm feeling good, except for these bruises. And what happened to Andros?"

"He's fine. Some cuts and bruises too, but he's good." – Zhane smiled.

"Thank God!" – Ashley sighed. She got up and went to the bridge. "Alpha, where are the other Rangers?"

"Ashley! Finally… They are in Angel Grove. But, don't even think you're going down there. You'll stay in this ship, like Zhane." – Alpha ordered.

"Hey. I tried to convince him, but that little robot is stubborn." – Zhane joked. "Let's get you something to eat. Come with me."

**(Later)**

"Who were those guys? They knew each and everyone of our moves. They blocked them all!" – T.J wondered.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't know who they are, but I think we're in trouble boys." – Cassie answered.

"Well, they only won because you were in disadvantage. But, soon, that will be corrected." – They heard a familiar voice behind them. They turned around.

"ASHLEY!" – Cassie ran into her and gave her a big hug. "I'm glad you're finally up again. We could really use some help against those things."

"In a couple of days, she will be able to fight again. Welcome back Ash!" – Carlos greeted.

"Thanks guys!" – Ashley looked for Andros, but he had left. "I can't wait to defeat these new creatures."

"I will tell you everything about them."

"Ok Cass. Thanks. Now, there's one thing I need to do. I'll be right back"

Ashley left, and went to look for Andros.

A/N: 6th Chapter! Hope you like it. Review, please.


	7. Chapter 7: Taking a Chance

Chapter 7: Taking a Chance

Ashley looked all over the Megaship, trying to find Andros. _"It seems like he's hiding from me… Where are you Andros?"_ – She sighed, as she kept walking back and forward. "Well, Ashley, sometimes you seem a little dumb. He must be in his room. Duh!" – She muttered aloud.

When she got to the door of Andros room, she stopped. _"What am I going to say? I have no idea. Maybe, if I get in, it will come to my mind, in the right moment. I hope so."_ – Ashley took a deep breath, before knocking on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Ashley. May I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." – Andros answered. _"Here we go."_

Ashley passed the door, and looked for him. "Where are you?"

"Over here, behind you."

She turned around and saw him, sitting on the floor, staring at the locket he had carried his whole life. Inside it, there was a picture of him and another one of Karone, his long lost sister. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He tried not to be seen crying and got up. "What do you want Ash?"

"Well, actually I want to know why you are hiding from me." – She asked directly -_"Damm, I should have been less aggressive"_

"_Do you really want to know?"_ – Andros wondered. "Don't be silly, Ashley. I'm not hiding from you. I just needed to be all by myself… nothing more than that."

"Don't lie to me Andros! I know that something is going on…" – she whispered. "And I will not move from here, until you talk to me." – She sat down on his bed and leaned against the wall. _"I just hope this will convince him to speak."_ – She thought.

"_Please don't make me talk..."_ – He wished. "Ashley, really, it's not important." – He sat down, next to her.

She pulled his hand "It is for me, Andros. We have been friends since the beginning of this whole fight. I have the right to know what's happening, what made you come back to that "I work alone" thing again, don't you think?"

He removed his hand – "I have no right to talk to you, after what I've done!" – He snapped. "Ok, now you already know. I should get back to work. See you later." – He got up and started to walk away.

"Wait… what do you meant? I don't understand what you're talking about." – Ashley said, confused.

"You don't understand?" – Andros felt he was losing control. "How? You have been in a coma for almost two weeks. And whose fault was that?"

"Darkonda, I think."

"No. It was my entire fault, Ashley."

"Andros, don't start with that guilt trip again, please. Of course, it was not your fault. You were injured. There was nothing you could do. Nobody blames you, don't you blame yourself." – She begged, with tears coming out of her eyes. _"The most beautiful eyes I've ever seen"_ – Andros thought.

He started to walk back and forward. After a few minutes, he stopped and turned back to her. "Ten years ago, I wasn't able to protect my sister, and Darkonda kidnapped her. I have been looking for her since then, and I still have not found her."

"You were only a kid. If you had tried to face that monster, he would have probably killed you"

"Let me finish" – he hissed. "Two and a half years ago, my best friend and the only person in who I really trusted almost died, when he tried to save ME. I was the cause of Zhane being in that cryogenic tube for all this time. Plus, our home planet is now deserted because I couldn't protect it against Dark Spector." Andros turned around and saw that Ashley was staring at him, trying not to cry.

"But… "– she started.

He ignored her and kept speaking – "On that day, I thought I would die. That's why I told DECA to bring you guys back here. I knew that I would fight Darkonda and that he would have no mercy. I didn't want anyone to see me in that situation. However, you went back there. You proved that you are incapable of leaving a teammate. And I should have proved that I deserve to be the leader of this team, and the Red Ranger. But I didn't. My inability to protect the ones I care about the most attacked once again. And you were lying in that bed for two weeks. Because I am not strong enough to keep my friends away from the danger. IT WAS MY FAULT! MY ENTIRE FAULT!" – He screamed. Then he slid through the wall and sat on floor.

Ashley let out a sigh and kneeled in front of him. "It's alright. I'm fine. I went there because I could not stand the guilt of leaving you on your own… It's not your fault. None of it. Please, don't say it again".

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Then, Ashley continued "And, you're the perfect leader. Without you, we would be completely lost. We need you here Andros. We need someone to remember us of our obligations, to teach us how to improve and be always better. We need you…" – Ashley leaned her face down, for him not to see her crying.

Andros lifted her chin up and looked deep in her eyes. Their faces were so close than suddenly she leaned forward and kissed him. He stopped thinking and kissed her back. Her hand slid from his chest to his cheek and he put one hand on her hair.

Moments later, Andros pushed her back, breaking that gentle kiss. _"Oh great, she kissed me and now I'm stepping back… I need to get out of here…"_ He got up and was going to leave the room when he heard Ashley sighing.

He turned around "Don't do that again please Ash." – He asked her, before leaving the room.

"_This time you really screwed it all Ashley Hammond!"_ – She thought.

A/N: 7th Chapter. This one is dedicated to **Phantom Rogue**, who helped me with this scene. Thank you so much! Hope you like it. Please, review!


	8. Chapter 8: Shattered

Chapter 8: Shattered

"_I completely lost my mind. Now it is over, forever. I really screwed it up. What was I thinking? That he liked me or so? "_– Ashley was going to meet the Rangers in the holding bay, she was thinking about what had just happened.

"Ash..." – a voice behind her called.

"Yeah?" – She turned around. "Oh hey Zhane! Need anything?"

"Have you seen Andros? I've been looking for him all over… I just can't find him."

"No… uh… I haven't seen him in awhile. Since he left, when we were talking earlier. Maybe he's on the bridge or in his room. I don't know. Sorry!"

"No problem… I'll keep looking." – He smiled, turned around and went to the bridge.

Ashley sighed – "That was close…"

-----

Zhane had looked all over the Megaship. He was coming to check on the bridge again when he turned left and someone ran into him and fell down.

"Watch out!" – Zhane was going to start accusing when he saw who had run into him – "Oh… Andros are you okay? I've been looking for you all over."

"I'm fine. Sorry, I know that I was supposed to meet you guys in the holding bay…"

"No, you're not 'fine'. What happened?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired. That was why I told DECA to ask you to postpone the meeting for tomorrow. I really need to rest."

"I think you really need to talk… and with me. Come, let's go to your room. Don't think you'll go to sleep until we talk." – Zhane advised. "Or did you think I wouldn't notice when you're not alright? I might have been asleep for the last two years, but I'm awake now!"

Andros smiled. "Okay, I'll talk."

As soon as they got to Andros' room, Zhane said – "DECA, we don't want to be disturbed okay?"

"Acknowledged." – DECA told him.

"So, what's bothering you, my friend?"

"The same as always…" – Andros sighed.

"No, it's not the same as always. I know there is something else. And I could bet it has to do with Ashley. Am I right?" – Zhane knew he had hit the point.

"Well… maybe I should tell you what happened." – Andros took a deep breath before saying it. "She kissed me. That was it."

"What? She did? That's good!"

"Nope"

"No? But you said you liked her… the other day, when we talked about all that had happened when I was asleep… If she kissed you, that's good, isn't it?" – Zhane asked confused.

"Well, it should be if I hadn't pulled her back."

Zhane stared at him – "I could really punch you right now Andros Karovan… are you stupid?"

Andros looked to floor. "I can't do that to her. Not after all the bad things, I've done lately. She forgave me, by the way. She said everything was all right. That I was a good leader. That they needed me… and then, she kissed me."

"And you thought that that was a good occasion to act like an idiot…" – Zhane commented.

"I asked her to never do that again. And I left…" – Andros sighed. "She must hate me now."

"And she's right. She kissed you that must mean she likes you. And you tell her to leave you. What do you want? Her to return to Earth?"

"Of course not. I hoped you would support me, not crucify me. Thank you!" – Andros answered, ironic.

"You're right, sorry. But when you act as you were stupid, I need to blame you for that. Try to put some sense in your head. Maybe I overreacted…sorry man!" – Zhane hugged him. He saw how is friend was tearing apart while they were talking. For the first time in his life, Andros was really falling in love. However, he continued to be frozen inside, as he was since the day Karone disappeared. "I think you should go and apologize to Ashley. Tell her that you were surprised by her attitude and didn't know what to say."

"You think?"

"Yeah. Otherwise things will get weird between you two."

"They will get 'weird' both ways Zhane. We kissed! There's no way to forget that…"

"So it was a good kiss uh?" – Zhane joked, trying to cut the tension off.

"Zhane!!" – Andros blushed. "Well, I must admit that, first, I kissed her back. It was so gentle and she's so delicate… but that's not important now."

"Aha! Got you. You're really looking like a teenager in love. All blushed and embarrassed and so…" – Zhane laughed.

"Don't be silly. This is serious"

"Ok, ok, right. Sorry again"

They were in silence for some minutes. Then Andros started talking once more "But you're right, it was a good kiss…" – _"I wish I could repeat it"_ – he thought.

"_It only depends on you, my friend!"_ – Zhane's voice entered his mind. _"Yeah, I'm still able to talk with you like this…I can read all of your thoughts! You're doomed!"_ – He joked.

"_Maybe I should put you asleep again, if you keep teasing me..."_

"Whoa, whoa… no violence needed!" – Zhane commented. "Do you know what you're going to do? Will you apologize to her?"

"I don't know. Maybe…"

"You should. If you don't want to lose her…"

"Well, may I sleep now? I'm really tired." – Andros asked.

"Yeah, I'll leave you. I cannot do anything more. Good Night! See you tomorrow"

"Night Zhane! Oh and… thanks!"

"No problem. Always." – Zhane smiled and left the room. _"I'll be always here to fix things when you screw them up"._

"_I heard that!"_ – Andros' voice muttered in his mind. Zhane laughed.

-----

After talking with Zhane, Ashley went to her room. The craziest idea had come to her mind. _"I need to sleep first, before making the decision. Tomorrow I will talk to Cassie. She'll help me… I hope so"_ – she sighed.

During that night, two lost souls in the Megaship weren't able to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9: Quitting

Chapter 9: Quitting

Some days later, the Rangers were woken up by DECA. "The Psychos are attacking Angel Grove again."

"What the hell… can't we sleep peacefully once in awhile?" – T.J cursed. He threw away the blankets and started to get ready for one more battle against those stupid monsters. "What do we have to do to beat them?" – He wondered as he was dressing his blue sweater. "They seem to have us studied. Each and every one of us. But maybe…" – T.J. started thinking. "YEAH! That's it… I'm a genius!"

"DECA, tell the other rangers that we're having a meeting in the holding bay, in five minutes."

"Acknowledged."

He finished dressing and ran to meet the others. "Guys, I have a plan to defeat the Psychos"

"Good. I was trying to guess what made you keep us here, instead of go there to face them… And what plan is that?" – Carlos asked him.

"Think with me. Each time they attacked us, they only fight with one ranger at a time."

"Yeah, we know that. What do you mean?" – Cassie asked.

"It's obvious. They have us studied but only isolated. I mean, the Red Psycho can only defeat Andros and beat him. Not me! The Black Psycho can only defeat and beat Carlos. Not Cassie!" – T.J. explained.

"I got it. We should do something to mix them up. In addition, we have an advantage: Zhane. There's no Silver Psycho." – Carlos told them.

"Good point. But how can we mix them up?" – Andros, who until that moment had been very quiet, wondered. "I know. We should switch morphers."

"Uh? Are you crazy? I'm not fight as the 'Pink' or 'Yellow' ranger, man!"

"Besides, our powers are different. That wouldn't work." – Cassie added.

"We can disguise ourselves all as the…" – Ashley started.

"The Blue Ranger. Me! And then, each one should fight against one Psycho, but from a different colour."

"Good idea. Let's try it"

"But you'll try it next time Rangers. Now you really must go there." – Alpha advised.

"It won't take more than 10 minutes. DECA help us out here. Try to make some new costumes, all of them blue" – T.J. turned around and spoke to the rest of the team "Let's finish with those Psychos once and for all".

**(Moments Later in Angel Grove)**

"Shouldn't the Rangers have arrived yet?" – The Black Psycho asked.

"Yeah. We've 'called them out' half an hour ago… They're teasing us. Let's go back to the Dark Fortress. Astronema will tell us what to do." – The Blue Psycho suggested.

"We're not going anywhere. And, you, don't say, ever again, that 'Astronema will tell us what to do'… because she's not our leader. We work on our own. And if you want to obey Astronema's orders, you can leave right now, understood?" – The Red Psycho threatened.

"Calm down you. Are you threatening me? Who the hell do you think you are, you piece of steel with legs?" – The Blue Psycho asked.

"I'm your leader and I'm the one who's going to finish with their leader."

"Well, let's see that…" – a voice behind them ended with the discussion between the Psychos. They turned around and saw five blue rangers.

"Hey. Five Blue rangers?" – Blue Psycho was stunned.

"Yeah. Let's check out if you're that good as you claim to be, you stupid robot!" – One of them, the real Blue Ranger, teased.

"Of course I can. I could even end with the five of you, if I wanted to." – The Blue Psycho answered and start running to them.

"Hold on a minute buddy… and us?" – Yellow Psycho stepped in front of him.

"You take whatever you want or you leave the whole job for me. I can take care of all the five of them!"

"Five or six?" – An unknown voice sounded behind him.

The Silver Ranger was there too. Zhane was completely healed and ready to comeback to action again.

"_They're coming from everywhere… Damned Rangers!"_ – This thought went through the 'minds' of all the Psychos.

"Let's finish them!" – The so-called 'leader', the Red Psycho shouted.

"Right… but I fight against whom?" – The Psycho Pink asked.

"Against the Pink Ranger, of course."

"And which one is she?" – Cassie's voice sounded. The Psychos looked again to the Five Blue Rangers.

"Whoever said that is right… we don't know which each is." – One of Psychos added.

"Well, as you're all so smart… come get us!" – Carlos called them out.

"Don't need to ask twice!"

The Psychos ran to the Rangers and they started fighting. The advantage of having Zhane in the team and being disguised helped a lot. For the first time since the appearance of the Psychos, the Rangers were able to pin them down.

Astronema, who had been watching the whole fighting in the Dark Fortress, spoke to the Psychos. "Back to the Ship your incompetents! NOW!" – She ordered.

Despite what he had just said about not being Astronema's serve, the Red Psycho Ranger stopped fighting. "We will be back, Rangers. And we will end up your sweet fairytale of protecting the Earth and the Universe! You can bet we will!"

"Well, I pretty much think I can bet that you are good at threatening Red Psycho… but you don't end the threats you made." – Zhane laughed.

The Psychos were teleported to the Dark Fortress. Zhane took off his helmet and smiled to his partners. "Man, I really missed this whole fighting thing… Let's go back to the Megaship? This made me hungry."

"You're always hungry." – Cassie laughed.

"That is because I was asleep for two years… without eating! I need to catch up with that. Plus, we haven't had breakfast today remember? It's the most important meal of the day…" – Zhane joked.

Zhane had brought more joy to the group. After his 'arrival', they were always laughing at his jokes. In addition, he was a precious help to fight against the Forces of Evil. He had already gotten into the team, fact that made Andros feel very relieved.

Ashley pulled Cassie's arm when they got to the Megaship. "I need to talk to you, after this, okay?"

"Okay. I'll meet you in the bridge in ten minutes."

"Thanks Cass."

"No problem"

**(Ten Minutes Later)**

"Here I am. What happened, Ash? Are you feeling ok?"

"Not much. I need to tell you something. And I need your help." – Ashley had a paled look on her face.

"Sure. What is it? You're getting me worried."

"Remember that day when I woke up? After leaving you guys, I went talk to Andros…" – She told Cassie the whole story about the kiss and the way Andros acted after it. "And since then, things had gotten very weird between us."

"Obviously, I think you should talk to him, about your feelings. And his too."

"I know I should. But I can't do that now. And that was why I needed to talk to you."

"You're not going to ask me to talk with him, are you?" – Cassie asked.

"No… I'm going to tell you that I'm leaving the team!"

"You're what?"

"That's it. I'm leaving the team. I need to be alone for a while. Settle down things and stabilize my head and my feelings. I'm so confused!" – Ashley said, sadly. "But I love you guys, I just cannot be here much longer, or I'll get crazy!"

Cassie sighed. "You know, we need you, Ashley. You can't leave like this, suddenly. You can't quit!"

"I already did" – was all that Ashley said.

"When will you tell the others?"

"I was thinking that you might help me with that. I'm leaving to today, coming back to my parents' house. Then I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe move to another place or so. I was thinking that you could tell them."

"Oh no no. Don't make me do that."

"Cassie please, I'm asking you. You're my best friend."

"Are you sure that this is what you want to do?" – Cassie looked at her, as tears were coming out of her eyes.

"Yes. I am."

"So, I'm not able to do anything else. Just wish you all the luck in the world, and hoping you come back one day. But you'll always be my best friend… and Astro Yellow!" – She was crying. "I love you Ash!"

"I love you too Cassie! I'll never forget you, or the guys. Never! I promise!" – Ashley whispered, as she hugged the broken Pink Ranger.


	10. Chapter 10: Telling the Team

Chapter 10: Telling the Team

Ashley had packed all of her stuff. She was changing clothes when, as she took off her yellow sweater, something fell to the ground. She leaned down to get it. It was the necklace Andros had given her, on her birthday.

She had promise herself she wouldn't cry. However, the moment she started staring at that necklace she couldn't control herself. All that had happened in the past two years came to her mind… all of a sudden. Become the Yellow Ranger had been her dream since she was a little girl. Now, that it had become real, she was leaving. _"You cannot stay here Ashley. You'll be ruining your life. And Andros's life too. You can't do that…"_

"Are you done?" – Cassie stepped in.

"Yeah. I already packed everything. Just need to say goodbye and then, I'm gone." – Ashley sighed.

"What do you want me to tell them?" – She asked.

"I don't know. I haven't thought of it. In fact, I never thought I would leave like this."

"You still can…"

Ashley cut her off – "No! I've made my decision. I can't live here anymore. This tension is killing me."

"Being away from Andros will kill you faster. You should try to settle things with him." – Cassie advised.

"Cassie please… don't make this even more difficult that already is" – Ashley begged.

"Okay. Sorry." – She hugged her again. "I'll miss you… so much!"

"I'll miss you too." – Ashley hugged her back. Tears kept coming down her cheeks – "Look, just tell them I had to leave and that, probably, I won't be coming back. Don't need to give details."

"What if..?"

Ashley saw that coming – "Don't worry. He will not ask. And if he does… don't say anything."

"Okay. I won't."

**(Later That Day)**

The Rangers were hanging out in the simudeck, playing pool. The team of Andros and Zhane, surprisingly, was winning. Despite that fact that he hadn't played it many times, Zhane was quite good. And Andros had learned how to play with Ashley. She had taught him all the great moves she knew. _"She is really a Pro."_ – Andros thought. _"I've been acting like an idiot… I MUST talk to her, as fast as possible"_

"_First you need to make the next move, so we can win… then you can talk to Ash. Like I told you days ago. You really are stubborn man!"_ – Once again, Zhane's voice entered his mind. He kept doing that in the past days, trying to convince him to solve things. He was right.

"Okay, let's finish this game." – Andros said.

That was the last move of the game, for two reasons. First, he hit the last ball. Second, Cassie entered the simulation with a weird looking on her face.

"Hey Cass. What happened?" – T.J. asked.

"I need to speak with you guys. It's important."

"You're worrying us… Is something wrong?" – Zhane questioned.

"Depends of the point of view" – She answered.

"Shoot!" – Carlos told her.

"Well, as you can see, Ashley's not here with me." – She started.

"And where is she?" – Andros asked, despite having a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.

Cassie took a deep breath before answering that. She looked at T.J., before looking at Carlos and Zhane. Finally she looked at Andros and answered his question – "Ashley left. She went back to her parents' house"

Andros world fell apart the moment those words come out of Cassie's mouth. "WHAT?" – He screamed.

"That's true. And she probably won't be coming back" – Cassie whispered. She was about to start crying again. T.J. approached her and put his arm around her shoulders – "It's alright. We're here."

Suddenly, they heard a noise. Andros had dropped the cue and had run out of the room. Zhane was about to follow him, but Carlos pulled his arm - "I think it's better to leave him alone now…" – he advised.

"You think?"

"Yeah"

"Maybe you're right… I'll be with him later." – Zhane agreed.

"And what are we going to do now? We have one element missing…"

"I don't know… I really don't know." – Cassie sighed.

"Don't worry Cassie. We will figure it out. I promise" – T.J. kissed her hair. He had made this promise, but he didn't know if they were going to figure out anything.

Meanwhile, Andros had gotten to his room, his refugee in the darkest hours.

"DECA, lock the doors, turn the lights off and do not allow anyone to get in here" – he ordered, breathless.

"Acknowledged."

After the doors were locked, he released all of his anger against himself. Once again, he had lost. First Karone, now Ashley.

He walked back and forward for almost half an hour. His entire body was shaking and it was as his heart had frozen once more. He passed his hand through his stripy hair. Then he started punching the wall in front of him. He punched out all the anger and the pain he had kept within. He felt something breaking and his wrist started to hurt him. He didn't care and continued to punch the wall, trying to get rid of all the sorrow he was feeling. A few minutes later, he realized it was useless. He had another wound added to the millions that had been bleeding all over the past years… and this one, like all the others, wouldn't heal anytime soon. His heart and soul had started living again the day he had met Ashley. And she had killed them one more time the moment she left.

"I should have talked to her earlier. I shouldn't have allowed her to leave this way… She didn't give me the chance to say goodbye. To tell her I love her, more than anything in this universe." – Andros slid through the wall and sat on the floor. Tears started to coming out of his eyes and, this time, he didn't try to stop them.

Later that night, a worried Silver Ranger approached his friend's room. "DECA unlock the doors, please."

As he entered the room, he got shocked with the vision in front of him. Andros had fallen asleep on the floor. The sweater sleeves were up and Zhane could see the bruise on his right wrist. "Oh Andros… what have you done?" – He whispered.

A/N: 10th Chapter! Hope you liked it! Review, please. This one is to the person who asked for updates! Love you )


	11. Chapter 11: Two Months Later

Chapter 11: Two Months Later

Two months had passed since the night Ashley left. The Psychos were still bugging the Rangers, who were weaker now, despite having already killed Psycho Yellow. Andros wasn't able to fight for three weeks for having broken his wrist in that night. The other Rangers noticed that he had gone back to how he was when they met him. Distant, cold, quiet… He thought about Ashley everyday and every second. Everything on that ship reminded him of her. He had never played pool again or basketball or drank hot chocolate. He couldn't lead them no more, so TJ assumed that position silently.

That day, Andros was walking randomly around the Megaship. He had just found a picture of all the Rangers that had been taken on Ashley's birthday. He remembered perfectly that day.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_**Well guys, thank you so much for this party. I mean it!"**_

"_**There's nothing to thank for Ash…" – Carlos told her.**_

"_**And to remember this moment… what if we take a picture?" – Cassie questioned.**_

_**They grouped and asked a man that was passing by to take their picture. They were all laughing, as if they would be together forever.**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

Andros sighed as he looked at the picture again. He was in the middle of TJ and Carlos. Ashley was next to TJ and Cassie was next to Carlos. They were all smiling and Ashley had the necklace he gave her hanging around her neck.

"_She wore that necklace everyday since then. She really liked it."_ – Andros thought. He kept walking, not knowing that TJ was staring at him. The Blue Ranger was shocked. He knew, as everyone on the ship, that there was some kind of special connection between Ashley and Andros, since the first day, that moment on that deserted planet when they first looked in each other's eyes. It was undeniable. They never thought she would leave that way, without any specific reason (apparently). Or that Andros would be so devastated that he would barely eat, sleep and, almost, breathe. _"He's dying a little bit each day that passes, in front of us, and there's nothing we can do."_ - He took a breath and then turned back, to return to his duties.

Andros heard a noise, turned around and saw TJ walking away. "T.J…" – he called.

"_Oh great… now he caught me!"_ – TJ thought. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you for taking my place. I'm not able to lead us anymore, and you're the perfect person to do it. I'm sorry for…"

TJ cut him off – "First, you don't have to be sorry for nothing Andros. As your friend, I'm here to help you every time you need me to. Because, as much as you don't think so, we're your friends and we really care about you, okay? How is your wrist?"

"It's almost as good as new. Don't worry; I'll be ready to fight again at 100 percent in a few days."

"I must confess that your wrist is not what worries me the most…"

"Sorry? I didn't catch that."

"Yes, you did. Man, you're tearing apart in front of our eyes. What did you expect? That we would not notice?" – TJ paused, before going on – "I've wanted to ask you this, for so much time… what happened? I mean, between you and Ash."

Andros sighed – "Well, I think you deserve to know. She left because of me. Because I despised her, knowing perfectly I was hurting her deep inside."

TJ was confused. "You did what? No, that's not possible."

Andros told him the whole story. How he had fallen for Ashley since the first minute. How he felt when she was in a coma, thanks to Darkonda's actions. How he acted with her after the kiss… and how he regretted it later.

"I just miss her… so much!" – He added, in a lower voice.

TJ didn't know what to say - "Don't blame yourself. Want an advice? I've known Ashley for almost five years now, and I know she will come back. Sooner than we think."

"I hope you're right. Thanks man." – Andros shook TJ's hand.

"You're welcome. Now, let's get back to the others, or they will think that we're planning something against them." – He joked.

**(On Earth)**

Meanwhile, on Earth, Ashley had arrived to the place that had been her house for the past two months. After leaving the Rangers, she went back to her parent's house, only for a couple of days, before she moved to the opposite side of Angel Grove. She was attending a new school, and had a part-time job in a shop. Her life had been turned upside down.

That day, after doing some homework and study a little bit, she tried to unpack more stuff. Since she moved in, she hadn't had time to take all of her stuff out of the boxes. As she was cleaning the dust out of some books, one of them fell to the floor and opened. Inside, it had that picture that had been taken on her last birthday. There she was, with the rest of the 'gang', all of them smiling.

"I miss them. I miss Cassie laughing, TJ giving orders, Carlos complaining, Zhane joking…" – she took a break, before staring at Andros's face – "I miss you Andros! But, I hope you understand that I can't come back…" – she said, painfully.

Suddenly, the doorbell rung. Ashley took a deep breath and got up. "Who is it?" – She asked when she got near the door.

"It's me, Brad." – A male voice answered.

Ashley hid the picture in the closest drawer and opened the door. "Hey Brad!" – She greeted.

"Hi sweetie" – He said as he got in and gave her a kiss – "So, ready for tonight?"

"Sorry… tonight? We didn't have plans for tonight."

"You forgot? We were going have dinner in this fancy restaurant and then we were going to Angel Grove's Park, watching the stars."

She had forgotten about their plans – "Sorry Brad. But I'm too tired to go out tonight and I still have some stuff to unpack."

"Oh! All right, no problem. But I can help you, if you want." - He offered.

"Oh, you don't need to. Really. I will get this done faster, by myself." – She explained. _"Please, leave me alone tonight… I need to be alone"_ – she begged him, mentally.

"Ok. If you need something, just call me. See you tomorrow honey!" – he gave her a kiss and left.

"See you tomorrow!" – Ashley sighed, relieved, when she closed the door. She opened the drawer and grabbed the picture again. She walked into the living room and sat on the floor, in front of the sofa, holding the picture. They were really a 'pretty good team' as Andros had said once.

It was unbelievable. She had been with Cassie, TJ and Carlos for almost five years now. And everything remembered was related to Andros. His expressions, his shyness… no one had ever hit her as hard as that 'stripey boy'. Since the day, he de-morphed for the first time, in front of her, on that deserted planet.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_**Power down!"**_

_**The Red Ranger demorphed in front of them. They all got stunned. Ashley walked in his direction, looking attentively at all the details of this new 'mate'. **_

"**_You're human." – She commented, some seconds later, after poking his shoulder. "And incredibly cute" - she thought to herself._**

_**He seemed upset. "What did you expect?"**_

"_**I don't know…I mean, you're not from Earth, are you?" – She asked.**_

"_**Earth isn't the only place where humans live. I'm from a space colony, KO-35. It's in the Karova System."**_

_**The others kept talking and making questions, but Ashley was just staring at him. Suddenly, she heard Cassie introducing herself – "Hey, I'm Cassie. It's really nice to meet you."**_

"_**And I'm… Ashley" – she smiled. He didn't seem much interested in who she were.**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

Tears were trying to fall again. She felt like she was being smashed against the wall – "I hope you can forgive me one day Andros." – She whispered.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Review please. This chapter is to **SweetSaS**. Thanks for you support and for all the reviews, you've submitted. 


	12. Chapter 12: Revelations

Chapter 12: Revelations

The morning after, Ashley woke up and realized she had fallen asleep on the floor of the living room. She looked at her watch – "What? 8.30? I'm late"

She ran to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Despite all the rush, she didn't get to school on time. When she got there, her Math class had already started.

"Excuse me Mrs. Gray… May I come in? I'm sorry I'm late." – She apologized.

"Exceptionally, yes, Miss Hammond, you can come in. But it was the first, and the last time." – The teacher warned her.

"Seems she's in a bad mood today." – Brad said to Ashley, a few minutes later. "What happened to you? You're always so punctual."

"I know, but today I didn't hear the alarm clock ringing. Look, can we talk after the class? I need to tell you something." – Ashley asked.

"Sure. Now, it's better if we pay attention or we'll hear Mrs. Gray complaining again…"

When the lesson was over, they left the room and walked to the garden nearest to High School.

"Okay, here we won't be disturbed. What did you wanted to talk to me about?"

Ashley took a deep breath, before starting that conversation, which she knew, would be hard. "Brad… I haven't been totally honest with you. There's something about me that you don't know. And now, I must tell you. I can't keep lying to you about how I got here."

Brad was confused - "Okay… so, tell me."

"I left my parent's house and came to the other side of the town for one simple reason… I was the Yellow Ranger." – She showed him her morpher.

"You were?"

"Yeah. I mean I still am I think they didn't found another girl to replace me. But I do not fight anymore."

"What happened?" – He asked.

"_Ok, here comes the hardest part…"_ – Ashley sighed. "I had a little misunderstanding with our leader and I decided to return to Earth."

"Why didn't you tell me before? I mean, we've been dating for almost a month Ash, and you know you can trust me…"

"I know Brad and I'm so sorry. But I needed some time. Please, try to understand…"

Brad stood in silence for a minute – "You're right. Sorry, I totally understand. And are you thinking about coming back?" – He questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe. I miss them so much, and I loved being a Ranger. I really don't know."

"What if we missed next class and went for a walk in the Park?" – He suggested.

Ashley agreed – "I really don't feel like hearing Mr. Hart talking about the French Revolution…"

Brad laughed – "Come on."

They bought some sandwiches and juices on their way to the Park, and sat in the highest hill, staring at the city. They ate in silence until Ashley asked Brad – "You won't tell anyone what I told you, right?"

"Of course not, sweetie." – He answered. _"I won't tell anyone until I get what I've been wanting since I met you…"_ – He thought.

**(On the Dark Fortress)**

The Red Psycho was listening Astronema yell. She had been like that for almost two months, since the day, they realized that the Yellow Ranger was gone.

"You're all a bunch of incompetents! Two months… Two months passed since that stupid Astro Yellow is gone and you still couldn't finish with the Rangers. And why is that? Can you explain me?"

"Well…" – The Pink Psycho started – "Every time we're almost done with it, they escape to their ship, or someone appears, or that Silver Ranger blast us… It's not our fault!"

"Yeah. You only send us when you want. If we were doing this our way, all of them would be dead long ago!"

"Are you complaining, your stupid machine? Because, if you are, I can kill you, just to teach your friends how to kill somebody…" – Astronema advised the Red Psycho.

Suddenly Ecliptor entered the room – "My princess, we have an incoming transmission from Dark Spector. It's better you came to the bridge."

"Okay Ecliptor. I'll be there, just one minute. I need to finish this conversation with these dumb servants…"

"As you wish, my princess…" – Ecliptor bowed and left the room.

"Where were we?" – Astronema turned to the Psychos again – "Oh right… this is your last shot! You'll going to attack the Rangers and, if you don't finish with them this time, I'll send you back to the place where you came from. Now go! I'll tell you when you'll attack Angel Grove again."

The Psychos went away and Astronema walked to the bridge – _"Good, now I'll have to hear Dark Spector complaining about the Rangers and blablabla… what a blabber mouth! I'm sick of him… we must start the Countdown as soon as possible!"_ – she thought.

"Astronema!" – Dark Spector's voice echoed, as she came in to the room. – "Why is taking so much to finish with the Rangers?"

"_Calm down Astronema…"_ – she took a deep breath before answering – "Well, you can say that the Psychos aren't enough to finish the Rangers, despite being in advantage. The fact that the Silver Ranger is healed is messing with our strategy. We need something to keep him busy, so we can end with the others."

"Okay, I'll send you a monster to take care of that Silver… Don't fail me this time Astronema!"

"I won't" – She promised – "End of transmission".

"_Well, seems like it's getting closer…"_ – Astronema laughed – _"Soon, the Earth will be mine! Just to start. And then, the whole Universe."_


	13. Chapter 13: Coming Back

_**A/N:** Here's some more. I'm sorry about the delay but, as you've noticed, fanfiction's email has been down lately, and school is being really a bitch. I hope you still like it. Review, please._

Chapter 13: Coming Back

Once again, Ranger's breakfast was interrupted by alarms going off – "Rangers, the Psychos are attacking Angel Grove" – DECA told them.

"Oh. What a strange dejá vu!" – Zhane joked. "Let's go guys… time to work out a little bit. This way we can stay in shape."

"Well, I would prefer having defeated them long ago and keep training at the simudeck…" – T.J. added, in a lower voice.

"Hey, where is your humour, man? We need to laugh at this stupid situation; otherwise we'll get all depressed." – Zhane commented. _"As you, dear friend."_ – He telepathically spoke to Andros.

They got up and went to the holding bay. In their way to the jump tubes, Zhane pulled Andros's arm so they were walking a little behind the others.

"Man, almost three months have passed. You need to choose: or you forget Ashley and move on or you go after her. You cannot keep living like this Andros. You don't sleep, barely eat, you cannot focus yourself on the Enemy… You should have acted back then but you didn't. Now it's too late to regret it. You MUST wake up now, from that daze you fell into the night she left! Because this is not only affecting you, it's affecting US. All of us!" – Zhane shook Andros.

"I'll think about it later… now, we must go!" – was all that came out of Andros mouth, that moment. He wasn't ready to face Zhane's explosion. He knew he deserved those words, but he just wasn't ready to hear them.

When they arrived to Angel Grove's beach, they saw about twenty-five people running away from the sea. There was some new monster, scaring all of them.

"Didn't DECA say that were the Psychos were attacking?" – Carlos asked the others.

"Yeah. It's weird. I can't see them." – Cassie answered.

"We're here!"

The Rangers turned around and saw the Psychos on the top of the cliff. "So, did you like our little surprise?" – Psycho Black asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah. Today we brought a friend of ours to meet you. He's anxious to know your Silver friend better." – Psycho Red laughed at them.

The monster came out of the sea and started to attack Zhane. He missed the first punch and kicked the monster's stomach.

The Rangers were coming to help him, when the Psychos stepped in front of them "Where do you think you're going? Your fight is with us." – Psycho Pink stated.

Zhane pulled out his Super Silverizer and did a front flip over the Psychos while firing a blast. When Psycho Pink threw a punch at him, he blocked and did a side kick along with a back reverse kick. Psycho Red grabbed Andros's arm and twisted it behind Andros's back. Andros cried out but then he elbowed Psycho Red in the side, flipped him over his shoulder, and tried to do an ax kick, but Psycho Red rolled out of the way.

TJ tried to block one of Psycho Blue's attacks, but he was kicked in the stomach. TJ did a back flip. "ASTRO AXE!" He then threw it at Psycho Blue, but it was blocked. Carlos did a sweep kick, knocking Psycho Black to the ground. Psycho Black grabbed Carlos's foot and flipped the Black Space Ranger onto his back. Carlos quickly jumped up and did a jump front kick and then a tornado kick, knocking Psycho Black backwards.

"SATELLITE STUNNER!" – Cassie shouted. She threw a blast but Psycho Pink escaped and gave her a dropkick. Cassie fell on the ground. She looked around and saw how the Psychos had pinned them all, except Zhane who was still fighting against that new creature.

Zhane dropped a back reverse kick on the monster and threw him to the water again. He turned around and saw the others lying on the ground with the Psychos teasing them. "Alpha, they've been pinned. We're in trouble here" – he spoke to the communicator.

**(Meanwhile)**

Ashley was in the kitchen, finishing her cornflakes and getting ready to go to school. She turned on the radio and start singing, in a soft voice, her favourite song. Her bag was in the chair next to her, and she suddenly heard a noise coming out of it. She grabbed it and tried to find what was making that noise. She reached her morpher, just in time to hear Zhane's voice - "Alpha, they've been pinned. We're in trouble here".

"_Oh my God!"_ – She thought. "The Psychos are attacking them". All of a sudden, she had gotten into a dilemma – "What do I do? They need me."

All the thoughts she tried to avoid the past two months, came to her mind. They were her friends. They always supported her. Now, they were been tortured by the Psychos and needed her help.

Ashley got up and started walking in circles in her kitchen – "What do I do? What do I do?" – She wondered. She grabbed her morpher again and stared at him. Alpha's words came to her mind – _"One goal, one team known as the Power Rangers."_ He had always said that, in the hardest moments, to keep them together in the search of Zordon.

She opened her morpher and looked at the numbers. _"You know the code… Just dial the numbers!"_ – A little voice, deep down her heart, ordered.

"I can't! I can't return…" – She said aloud, trying to shut up that voice that was haunting her.

"_You must!"_ – The voice insisted.

While Ashley was trying to find a solution, she heard, once again, Zhane asking Alpha for help. Behind his voice, she was able to hear Cassie screaming when Psycho Pink twisted her arm around her back.

By hearing her friend crying out in pain, she made her decision.

**(Back on Angel Grove's Beach)**

Zhane was in a dilemma too. The monster kept attacking him and he wasn't able to help his friends. _"Oh, how I wish Ashley was here…"_ – he thought.

The four Rangers were down, hurt and tired – _"We can't beat them."_ – Andros concluded, desperately.

"Ahah Rangers… finally we'll destroy you, forever!" – Psycho Red was enjoying the view. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He was about to shoot the final blast when, from out of nowhere, a girl dressed in yellow kicked his side. He fell to the floor, and looked up – "Who dares?" – He questioned, angrily.

The girl was standing in front of him – "Seems you forgot that the Rangers are five, not four!" – She smiled, ironically. She walked towards her friends, who were completely paralyzed with what was happening, and helped them got up.

"Ash? Is really you?" – Carlos asked, absolutely stunned.

She stared at him for a few seconds – _"Well it depends? Who do you want me to be?"_ – She thought to herself, smiling again. Then, and without answering, she turned to the Psychos again.

"I'm sick and tired of you, robots! Let's end this, shall we?" – She asked her mates. They looked at each other's and nodded – "So… LET'S ROCKET!" – She shouted – _"God, how I missed this!"_ – She added and started running to the Psychos.

They were so surprised that only reacted a few minutes later, when she had already punched Psycho Pink and kicked Psycho Black.

"Well, it's only one more. We can kill you too!" – Psycho Blue muttered.

"It's six to four now… you're screwed!" – Zhane teased them. He had blasted the monster and it had exploded. "One out, four to go!" – He added.

"It's a piece of cake…"

"Are you sure?" – Andros questioned. He was so glad Ashley was back, he had recovered the will to fight and kill those annoying creatures.

A/N: I want to thank, once again, to **Arwennicole**, for all the help in this fight scene, with names of moves and so. Thank YOU! You are the BEST:D


	14. Chapter 14: A Long Night

Chapter 14: A Long Night

After the battle, they returned to the bridge. When Andros tried to go up to Ashley and talk to her, she turned and left the bridge before he could say anything to her.

"What was all that about?" Andros asked. Cassie shrugged her shoulders.

"No idea," she replied – "I'm going to talk with her." – She turned and left the bridge too, taking direction of Ashley's room.

Ashley was changing her normal clothes to her uniform when Cassie appeared in the doorway.

"May I come in?" – She asked.

"Of course Cassie! You don't even need to ask!" – Ashley got up and went hug her best friend.

They both sat on Ashley's bed – "So, how are you?"

"I'm fine" – Ashley answered in a lower voice.

"Ash… what happened since you left? What made you comeback?" – Cassie asked. Then added – "We missed you! I'm anxious to hear it all!" – She smiled.

"Well, maybe it's better if I start at the beginning?" Cassie nodded. "Okay, let's see… When I left the Megaship the other night, I went back to my parent's house. They supported me and didn't make any questions about what had happened. I told them I wanted to move to the other side of Angel Grove one week later. They loaned me some money and I rented a little apartment near the High School I'm attending now." – Ashley took a little break.

"Why did you move away?" – Cassie asked, confused.

"I was afraid you would go after me" – She confessed.

Cassie sighed – "We wouldn't do that, not after you said you wanted to be alone… You needed to think and reflect, and settle things down. We would respect that."

Ashley stared at the floor. After a little while, she continued – "As I said, I'm now attending a new High School, and today I was finish my breakfast when I heard Zhane's voice coming out of my morpher."

"You kept it? We thought it was lost, that is why we haven't found anyone to replace you yet… And because Andros wouldn't allow that too!"

Ashley shivered when she mentioned Andros – "Yeah. I forgot to take it off when I left and I just kept it. As I was saying, I was getting ready to school when I heard Zhane's voice asking for help. I thought about this whole 'coming-back' thing for a while, when I heard him again, telling Alpha you were all pinned and I heard you screaming in pain, behind him. It made me decide. You are my friends, and maybe I shouldn't have left you in first place. But I'm here now, I'm the Yellow Ranger, and no one will ever change that again!" – She stated.

Cassie smiled again and gave her a big hug – "I'm glad you're back. I missed you so much, Ashley!"

Ashley hugged her back – "I know. I missed you too…"

"And what about Andros? Why didn't you talk with him just now, on the bridge?"

"I can't talk to him. Not before, I return to Earth. Look Cassie, there's something I need to tell you…"

"Yeah… Shoot!"

"I… I have a new boyfriend." – Ashley blushed.

Cassie didn't react for a minute – "A new boyfriend? Who is he?"

"He's a guy I met at school; he was really nice to me. His name is Brad. I told him that I had been a Power Ranger a few days ago. Tomorrow I must return to Earth, to tell him that I'm back here."

"And will you break up with him?" – She asked, afraid of the answer.

"Of course not! What made you think that?"

"Uh…" – Cassie pointed to her necklace and was about to say 'Andros', when DECA interrupted them.

"Girls, enough with the talking. You have work to do Cassie, and you Ashley, it is better if you start doing something, because this whole time you were away, the others had to work harder, to cover your absence." – DECA said, a little angrily.

"_What's her problem?"_ – Ashley thought – "I know DECA, but it's almost evening and tomorrow is holiday, so I can make it tomorrow"

"DECA, we're just talking. We're tired from the fight; we will do that stuff tomorrow, okay?" – Cassie asked, nicely. She turned to Ashley again – "Don't be mad at her. She has been like a mother to Andros this past years and she saw how he suffered when you left. She saw more then we did!"

Ashley nodded. "And you?" – Cassie continued

She sighed – "I'm fine. I still haven't passed over it, but I'm good!" – She couldn't avoid asking – "How was Andros?"

Cassie waited a moment before answering. She could notice the anxiety and the fear in Ashley's eyes. Clearly, her feelings for Andros were still very strong and she worried about his condition, while she was away.

"I will not lie to you. The night you left, Andros fell apart and never was the same again. I don't know how, but he broke his wrist. Only Zhane knows how he did that but we suspect he punched the wall or so. He stopped eating, sleeping, training. He wasn't able to lead us anymore, so TJ took his place. He was a rag, Ash."

Ashley bit her lip – "I'm sorry things happened that way, but it had to be."

"No, it hadn't!" – Cassie looked Ashley in her eyes – "You know it could have been different. Why did you treat him like that, earlier?"

"What do you mean 'like that'?"

"You know. You despised him! He went to talk to you, and you turned you back to him, Ashley."

"I'm not ready to speak with him yet. Not until I talk with Brad and solve things." – She confessed.

Cassie got up – "Well, I must go and get some sleep now. It will be a long day tomorrow. You should do that too. But first…" – She took a break.

"Yeah. There's anything you want to tell me Cass?" – Ashley asked.

"I know it's nothing of my business…" – She sat on Ashley's bed again – "but I need to tell you this. The way you're acting now, it's not right. Ashley, if we had any doubt that Andros really felt something for you, it was lost. In these months, we got to know him a little better. I mean, his feelings were clearer. He does like you and care about you Ash… much!" – She got up again and left the room, leaving Ashley to her thoughts.

"_No, I can't do it again! I will hurt myself, and worse: I will hurt him again!"_ – Ashley was fighting against the wish she had of go and meet Andros – _"I'm with Brad now. I must stay with him. He gives me the security and the attention I need. Oh Andros… I'm so sorry! When I left, I didn't want to make you suffer. It was never my intention. I care about you too much to be able to do that. I'm sorry!"_ – She mentally apologized to her dearly beloved.

On the other room, Zhane was asking Cassie – "What's up?" She had come out of Ashley's room and asked DECA to make him go to her room.

"Well, you saw how Ashley treated Andros in the bridge awhile ago, right?"

"Yeah. It was weird."

"I just spoke to her. I thought it was better if you and I tried to find a solution on how to tell Andros, because he's going to fall again." – She advised.

"He is? Why? What happened, Cassie?" – Zhane questioned, worried about his friends.

She told him the whole conversation she had just had with Ashley, including the stuff about her new boyfriend, Brad. Zhane sighed – "How will we tell him?" – He wondered – "He confessed to me, some time ago that he had started to live again when he met Ashley. That being close with her made him stand up and look to the future more positively. He will break down when he knows she's with another man…"

Cassie nodded – "I know, that's why I decided to speak with you first Zhane… How will we tell him?"

"I don't know Cass. I have no idea" – He said, in a lower voice.

"Maybe, if we wait a little while, Ashley gains the courage to speak with him" – She suggested, after a few minutes of silence.

"You're right. We should wait." – He got up – "Thanks Cassie. I hope things work out for those two" – He stroked her hair.

"I hope so!" – She sighed – "Good Night Zhane"

"Good Night Cass! Thank you" - He waved her, before leaving the room.

A/N: 14th Chapter! Hope you like it. Please, review.


	15. Chapter 15: Meeting Brad

Chapter 15: Meeting Brad

"So this is it. Yesterday I got back to my duties as a Ranger, and that's why I needed to talk with you. I want you to meet the guys and Alpha and so." – Ashley finished telling her story to Brad, who as a little bit astonished.

"Well… now I'll barely see you! You'll be busy with that and school and so." – Brad commented after awhile – _"That way, I'll not get what I've been wanting since I met you"_

"Oh, don't be silly!" – Ashley smiled. "You can come and see me in the Ship."

"_Oh... that changes the whole picture!"_ – Brad smiled – "And when do I get to meet your friends?"

"Well, I just came down here to speak with you and get some stuff to take to the Megaship. You could come with me and I'll introduce them to you. What do you think?"

"It's okay to me. And I can take you out for dinner after it?" – He asked.

"Sure!" – She answered. He leaned down, gave her a quick kiss on the lips, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders – "Come on"

**(On the Megaship)**

Cassie and Zhane had just finished telling T.J. and Carlos that Ashley had a new boyfriend and all the news.

"So, please, remember. You must not mention anything related with this guy, Brad. Not near Andros. We're still thinking about the best way of telling him the truth." – Zhane pointed.

T.J. was a little confused – "What a situation! Now that Andros was going back to what he was before Ashley left, this Brad comes out. What a mess that is between those two."

"Yeah" – Carlos agreed – "They need to solve it. It's starting to affect the whole team and our revenue. If the Psychos find this out, we're screwed!"

"Find out what?" – Andros had just entered the room

"Uh… Find out that we have no idea of how to beat them." – Cassie improvised.

Andros didn't believe that, but he was in a good mood and didn't want to force them to tell him. Therefore, he nodded and said – "I'll be on the bridge, if you need me".

"Okay." – Zhane answered – "That was close… We need to be more careful" – he advised.

"More careful about what?" – a voice asked behind him.

He jumped, scared, and turned around – "What's with you guys today? You come out of nowhere and scare people" – He cursed - "Oh hey Ashley!"

"Hey guys. Sorry about that Zhane, I thought you heard me coming in." – She greeted.

"It's okay. Sorry about my cursing."

"No problem. Here, I want you to meet Brad, my boyfriend." – She said, introducing the boy that was staying behind her, checking the room.

This moment, Andros was coming back to the holding bay "Hey T.J, could you help me…" – he did not finish. He stared at Ashley and Brad, when he heard her last sentence.

Zhane and Cassie glanced at each other, and she sighed – _"Damm. Not this way!"_

"Hi Brad. I'm T.J." – they shook hands.

"And I'm Carlos."

"And these are Cassie, Zhane and Andros" – Ashley introduced, as they seemed to had frozen – "They usually speak as normal people, I don't know what happened"

Cassie coughed and stamped on Zhane's foot – "Hi! Nice to meet you"

Brad smiled – "Nice to meet you too. So, you're the famous Power Rangers uh?"

"Yeah. That's us. If we're famous or not, I don't know" – Carlos added.

Andros couldn't believe in what he was staring at. _"Boyfriend? No, it can't be…"_ Without saying a word, he left the room, and ran to his quarters.

"What happened with him?" – Brad asked. He noticed, by the way Andros stared at him, that he liked Ashley. _"Good. I have some competition!"_ – He thought to himself.

"I'll go talk to him" – Zhane told them. He left the room and went look for Andros. He found him locked in his room.

"Andros, it's me, Zhane. Can I come in?"

The doors were unlocked and Zhane entered the room. He saw Andros sitting on his bed, staring at the floor.

"We were thinking about the better way of telling you…" – He started.

Andros got up – "You knew?" – He screamed, angrily.

Zhane nodded – "Cassie told me, yesterday."

"Why didn't you tell me? You want to see me like this, didn't you?"

"Andros, don't say that. Of course not. You're my brother. Of course, I don't want to see you like this. Not again." – Zhane got up and put his hand on Andros shoulder.

"Why? Why, man?" – Andros turned to him and asked. He couldn't keep the tears inside, and let them spill.

Zhane was speechless – "I don't know. I really don't!" - It broke his heart to see his friend in that condition – "Everything will be okay, man!"

He didn't know that, but it was the only thing that passed through his mind.

**(That Night)**

"You shouldn't have done things that way, Ashley. Are you crazy?" – Zhane had completely lost his composure.

Ashley bit her lip – "Why are you so mad about it, Zhane? Can't I have a boyfriend?"

"Because…" – He turned around, facing her – "Because it's all so easy for you, isn't it? You didn't have to deal with a broken Andros. You didn't have to see him dying a little bit inside all this time. You didn't see his wrist, after he punched the wall."

"Well, too bad. He got his chance, and he wasted it. I moved on." – she stated, controlling her tears. This wasn't what she felt, but she refused to give up her struggle. She needed to forget Andros, as fast as possible.

"I thought I knew you, but I was wrong." – Zhane turned his back to her and left the room. He was blinded by the anger he was feeling that moment, and found himself knocking on the door of Cassie's room.

"Came in" – she said from the inside – "Zhane, what happened?"

"You won't believe in what Ashley just told me…" – He tried to calm down, but was impossible. He was so nervous, that he told the whole story to Cassie, including his conversation with Andros early, so fast that she didn't understand anything.

"You need to calm down a little bit… and tell me it all again, because I didn't understand a word of what you just said" – She was a little surprised by Zhane being so nervous.

He took a deep breath and, calmly, told her what happened between him and Ashley – "Why is she acting like this? I don't get it." – He wondered, in the end.

"May I ask why are you so pissed?" – Cassie didn't understand why.

Zhane sighed – "Because he's my best friend, Cassie. You didn't see him when Karone disappeared. When he thought he had found her, and then he figured it was only another failed shot. And you didn't see him that night she left. I'll never forget that. You can't ask me to sit, seeing my friend destroying himself and do nothing."

Cassie hugged him – "You're right. Sorry. Ashley's not acting the right way, but there's nothing he can do about it. She should know what she's doing."

"But she doesn't… and that is what worrying me!"

They remained silent for some minutes and then Zhane pulled back from the embrace. He kissed Cassie's cheek, gently, and got up – "Thank you for listening to me."

"Anytime" – She smiled. When he left the room, she lifted her hand and touched her cheek.

A/N: 15th Chapter, dedicated to **DarkHonda**! Hope you liked it. Please, review. Oh, and don't kill me for this_ Zhane/Cassie_ little thing. By the way, what do you think of it?


	16. Chapter 16: Some Surprises

Chapter 16: Some Surprises

A few days later, they were all hanging at the Surf Spot, after school, when Ashley joined them. She was still attending the other school, the same as Brad, because she didn't want to change school again and graduation was only some months away.

"So, where is Mister I'm-Ashley's-Shadow?" – Zhane asked, ironically.

Ashley didn't bother fighting with him, about the nickname he had just given to her boyfriend – "He had some things to do. He will meet us later."

"Us?" – Zhane asked in a lower voice. Cassie kicked him and put her fingers in front of her mouth – "Sshh"

He got up and left them – "I'm going to catch some fresh air."

Cassie looked at the others and sighed. She got up too and went after him. She found him in the parking lot, walking back and forward.

"Zhane… are you alright?"

He turned to her – "No, I can't deal with this. I can't see that guy always behind Ashley, as if he is glued to her, while Andros is suffering a lot. They are my friends, they love each other, and she is acting as if she's completely indifferent to how Andros is feeling. I can't smile or be nice to her or this Brad. I'm not that cynic!" – He snapped.

"I know... but you have to try!" – Cassie stroked his shoulder.

He sighed – "Do you think that they would mind if I come back to the ship?"

"No. They will be fine. Go, you need to rest a little bit. Try to sleep. See you later."

"See you" – Zhane reached his communicator – "DECA, one to teleport, now!"

**(At Angel Grove's Park)**

Andros was sitting in the grass, focusing at nothing. He was thinking about his life. _"What a mess!"_ – He stated. He hadn't been able to show his feelings since Karone had disappeared, and now he was paying a high price for being so shy and afraid of let himself go. _"How I wish I hadn't broken that kiss…"_ – he sighed. He had never been kissed before. In fact, he had never felt like this around a girl. On KO-35, he had been contented by several girls, mostly Zhane's friends, but never dated them. The only girl that had ever claimed his heart was Ashley. And he had been proud enough to let her go.

He was so caught up in his memories that he didn't realize someone was approaching. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he jumped and turned around.

"Oh, it's you. Hey Brad!" – He greeted – _"What the hell is he doing here?"_

"Hi! I'm sorry if I scared you." – Brad apologized to him, smiling.

"No problem. I was just distracted." – Andros got up and faced him – "What brings you here?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you."

"Sure. About what?" – Andros questioned.

"About you… and Ashley!" – Brad told him, with an angry look on his face.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah. I know you like her. She's my girlfriend, and I hope you stay away from her"

"Are you kidding me?" – Andros asked, surprised.

"No. I have never spoken so serious in my life. Or you leave her alone, or we're going to have trouble!" – He threatened.

Andros could not avoid laughing, – "You'll regret if you got into a fight with me." – Brad continued.

"Will I?"

"Yeah. Leave Ashley alone. She's mine now. You wasted your chance… too bad!" – He snapped and turned around, leaving Andros astonished.

Andros sat on the grass again, thinking about what had just happened – _"How does he know? Maybe Ashley told him…Oh man!"_ – He sighed. He didn't want to get in a contest with Brad. The guy had stolen Ashley from him (at least he thought so) and now he wanted him to step away? He just felt broken inside. _"I'm not going to stop being friends with Ashley just because this stupid guy is insecure about her feelings for him."_ – He decided.

**(On The Megaship)**

Zhane had arrived to the ship and avoided Alpha's questions about what had happened to him that made him so nervous.

"Nothing, Alpha. I just had a busy day at school. I'm a little tired. I'm going to rest before our training session"

He went to his room and let himself fall onto the bed. He soon was in a deep sleep, dealing with a terrible nightmare.

_**(Zhane's Dream)**_

_**Dark Spector was attacking KO-35. His evil creatures were everywhere, haunting the rebels. He and Andros were trying to protect their compatriots but they weren't succeeding.**_

"_**Andros, there's just too many of them." – He said to his friend. Andros went to take care of a bigger monster and he stayed with the Piranhatrons.**_

**_Moments later, when he turned around, he saw that the monster was about to attack Andros with his sword. "No, it can't be!" He started running and threw himself to the monster. They both fell and the monster exploded._**

_**(End of Dream)**_

Zhane woke up, almost breathless. This was the first time he remembered what had happened that day, on KO-35. Since he had woken up, he had been fighting to remember what happened. Andros had never answered him.

"Now I know why you don't want to talk about it, Andros." – He whispered. He got up – "You think it was your fault."

**(Back at Angel Grove's Park)**

"Oh, check this, the Red Ranger is alone." – A voice behind Andros teased him.

He got up and saw the Psycho staring at him – "What do you want?"

"Three months, and you still ask that? You're stupid!"

"Oh right. you want to destroy me. I forgot that. Well, too bad… you can't destroy me!" – Brad's threats had caused him to be in a bad mood – "LET'S ROCKET!"

They exchanged kicks and punches for a while, until Psycho Red blasted him. He fell on the floor; the blast had hit his arm and had ripped his costume.

"Oh. Poor little Ranger. He's hurt!"

Anger started to pulse in Andros veins. He got up and ran to Psycho Red – "SPIRAL SABER" – he shouted.

Some moments later, they Rangers arrived there – "Andros, we're here." – T.J. told him.

They reached him – "Are you okay?" – Carlos asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." – He turned around – "Just need to finish with this coward." No one was there. Psycho Red was gone.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Please, review.


	17. Chapter 17: Crossing the Line

Chapter 17: Crossing the Line

That afternoon, after school, the Rangers went to the soccer field, to watch Carlos's team playing against a team from another school from Angel Grove. At the end of the match, where Carlos scored three goals, T.J. proposed a drink at Surf Spot, to celebrate the victory.

"Congratulations Carlos. You're a great player" – Zhane greeted. It was the first time he saw him play – "You'll be playing in the national team, any time soon!"

Carlos smiled. They all knew that his dream, since he was a kid, was being a soccer player known worldwide – "I hope so."

"Hey guys, do you want to do something tonight?" – Cassie asked.

"I have homework to do" – T.J. said, sadly – "I would love to go, but I really need to do it."

"I'm tired and I'll have an extra training tomorrow. I need to sleep." – Carlos added.

Cassie sighed. Andros added – "I have work to do on the Megaship."

"Oh come on… It wasn't the first time you would leave work behind, to have some fun"

Andros looked to Carlos. Carlos looked to T.J. – "Sorry Cassie." – They said as one voice.

Zhane, who had been quiet until then, said – "Well, I don't have nothing planned for tonight. What were you thinking about?"

Cassie smiled. The smile didn't escaped the others, who started laughing, except Zhane and herself, who blushed.

"Well, well… it seems to me that you're going to have a date, my friends!" – T.J. laughed.

**(Meanwhile on the Megaship)**

Ashley and Brad had been studying in the Megaship, most of the afternoon. They were now taking a little break and eating something.

"_Now it's the perfect timing… those stupid Rangers aren't here and that Alpha is busy playing chess with DECA. It's perfect!"_ – Brad thought. Then he said – "Ashley, sweetie, and if we stop studying now?"

"But we still have tons of stuff to study" – She replied.

"Yeah, but we can do that tomorrow" – He wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her.

Behind him was the keypad that locked the door from the inside. This had been one of DECA's improvements since the Turbo Rangers had become the Astro Rangers. She had installed one keypad in each Ranger's room, which had a unique code that locked the door from the inside. The only way of unlock the door was dial the right code.

A few minutes earlier, he had dialled the code. He had seen it in a paper with some of Ashley's personal stuff, like codes and so. She kept it in the drawer of her bedside table. When she was taking her stuff back to the Megaship, Brad saw it and read it – _"This was what was missing, for me to finish my plan."_ – he thought.

He pushed Ashley to the bed. She opened her eyes, surprised – "What are you doing?" – She asked.

"Shut up!" - He ordered. Ashley was confused. All of a sudden, Brad's face had changed its expression. He was no longer the sweet little person she had met he was now a furious, desiring man.

She opened her mouth to speak, but he quickly silenced her with a slap – "I said SHUT UP!" – He shouted. He started trying to take off her shirt, but she fought back. She kicked him and tried to escape, but he was too strong. She started screaming again – "HELP! ALPHA!"

"SHUT UP, YOU BITCH!" – He ordered, again.

----

The Rangers had just arrived to the Megaship and were hanging in holding bay. "So, you two better get going to get ready for your date, later" – T.J. advised, joking.

"Hey, guys, stop it!" – Cassie was blushing, once more.

"Yeah, it's enough. We're just going to the cinema, or eat something. It's not a big deal, you know." – Zhane added. He was a little blushed too.

"Not a big deal… yeah right!" – Carlos teased. They all laughed.

Suddenly, they heard a noise, coming from one of the quarters. Andros stepped forward. It seemed a very familiar voice. He realized it was Ashley, his heartbeat stopped – "Guys, it's Ashley!"

They ran to her room. They stopped at the door – "DECA, open the door! QUICKLY!" – Andros ordered. He could hear her screams coming from the inside, behind Brad's screams, telling her to be quiet. _"What is he doing to her?"_ – He wondered, desperately.

"I can't unlock the doors. He must have dialled the code!" – DECA informed them.

"Oh no…" – Andros started punching the door, forcing it to open. Each second that passed, he was feeling more powerless. _"We must get in there"_ – he stated. "Does anybody know Ashley's code?"

Cassie was fighting to remember – "What was it?" Tears were straming out of her eyes. Andros started walking back and forward. Ashley's screams were becoming louder and he could sense her fear. He was scared to death of what Brad could be doing to her.

Zhane put his hand on Cassie's shoulder – "Please Cassie. We need that damm code!"

Meanwhile, T.J. and Carlos were trying to unlock the door, without the code. Minutes passed and their desperation was getting bigger and bigger. Finally Cassie screamed – "I know it! It's Nick's birth date."

She hurried to the keypad and dialled it. The door opened, fast, and they got in, in a rush. Andros froze as he had barely passed the doorway. Brad had pinned Ashley and he was trying to touch her.

Zhane, Carlos and T.J. quickly got him off her and pushed him, violently, out of the room. Cassie embraced Ashley. "H-h-h-he tried t-t-to…" – Ashley couldn't finish her sentence, as tears filled her eyes.

Cassie sighed and wiped her tears away– "It's okay, honey. Everything will be just fine. It's okay. He can't hurt you anymore"

In the corridor, Andros felt his anger pulsing in his veins and he totally lost control of his actions. All that passed through his mind was what this man had just tried to do to Ashley. He started punching him and kicking him, not caring the damage he could be causing in Brad's body. Andros's true desire was killing Brad, that moment.

The other male Rangers tried to stop him, but he was completely possessed by his anger. He pushed them away and said – "DECA, two to teleport!" Then, he pressed some buttons on his morpher and both he and Brad disappeared.

A/N: Well, you don't have to wait no more... These were Brad's intentions, since the beggining. Please, don't kill me? Oh... and be nice and review!


	18. Chapter 18: Just Fine

_**A/N:** Here's some more. I'm sorry about the delay but, as you've noticed, fanfiction's email has been down lately, and I've been a little busy with other stuff I have going on. Review, please!_

Chapter 18: Just Fine 

"DECA, search for Andros signal. We need to know where he went, before it's too late." – Zhane ordered, when he, TJ and Carlos entered the bridge. He knew his friend too well, to know that he was completely out of his mind.

"Acknowledged." – DECA started scanning - "The search for Andros signal gives us unknown coordinates." - She told them, after a while.

"Dammit!" – Zhane cursed. He sat on the nearest chair – "Now, what do we do?" – He asked the others.

Carlos and TJ shared a glance. Then, the Blue Ranger spoke – "I don't know. Zhane, you know Andros better than any of us… What do you think he's doing, at the moment?"

He sighed – "I'm going to tell you the truth… I think Andros is beating the hell out of Brad, right now. He loves Ashley, more than he loves himself or anything else in the Universe. He will make Brad pay for his actions. Trust me!"

They stood in silence for a minute. Finally, Carlos proposed – "Maybe, we should go check Ashley. Cassie stayed with her, in the infirmary. We should go there"

The others nodded and they left the bridge. On their way to the infirmary, they ran into Cassie.

"How is she?" – Carlos asked.

Cassie sobbed. She looked at him – "How do you think, Carlos? I had to give her a sedative, for her to calm down. She will probably be a sleep, for the next hours."

"Did she tell you anything?" – TJ questioned.

She looked at him – "She just kept crying and saying that he was going to hurt her… I had never seen her like that. It was awful"

Zhane passed his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head – "Don't worry Cassie. Everything will be fine."

She nodded and rested her head on his chest. "Where is Andros?" – She asked, moments later, when she finally realized that the Red Ranger wasn't there.

"Uh… Andros…" – They looked at her, embarrassed.

She realized something had happened. She stared at them and, finally, she spoke – "Zhane…" – She asked, looking deep in his amazingly blue eyes – "…Where is Andros?"

Zhane didn't answer immediately and she found out that he and Brad were probably fighting.

"He… he teleported himself and Brad to a place, somewhere we don't know." – She looked at him, worried – "Yeah, it is what you're thinking. He is, certainly, beating the hell out of Brad, now" – He sighed.

The Rangers left the bridge and went to the holding bay, waiting for Andros to return.

**(One Hour Later)**

They were still in the holding bay, waiting for Andros's return. In front of their four worried faces were standing four mugs filled with coffee.

"This is probably going to be a long night." – Carlos stated – "We need to stay alert and take care of Ashley… we're going to use much of this." – He pointed to the coffee.

"You should go to sleep now." - TJ advised, pointing to Zhane and Cassie – "We stay here and then, in a few hours, we switch. What do you think?"

"It's a good idea Teej, but I don't think I could sleep now." – Cassie told him.

"Yeah. I just want to know where Andros is…" – Zhane sighed. He leaned down, with his head between his hands.

"I'm here" – Andros voice sounded.

They turned around and saw in standing there. It seemed like he had been in war. His clothes were dirty, he had some bruises on his face and his bottom lip was busted open.

"Andros… what happened to you?"

He didn't answer. It's was obvious that he had beaten Brad but Brad had fought back.

"Come, let's take care of that…" – Cassie told him. She made her way to the infirmary and he followed her, as he was a robot.

"This is going to sting a little bit." – She warned.

"Don't worry. I don't care. How's Ashley?" – He, finally, asked.

"She is asleep now. I had to give her a sedative, because she kept screaming that Brad was going to hurt her and all of that. I wasn't able to calm her down without it. She will be awake in a few hours. We were about to decide who would sleep now and watch her. We were going to make shifts." – She explained.

They went back to the holding bay, where the others were still waiting for them. As they reached it, Andros asked – "Is she in her room?"

"No. I thought it would be better if she slept in my room tonight." – Cassie told him.

"And you, where are you going to sleep?"

"You sleep in my room, Cassie. I'm not going to use it tonight." – Andros said. Then, he added – "I'm going to stay with her, so you can go sleep now. It was a long day."

She nodded. She went to pick up some clothes at her room, trying not to wake Ashley and when she was leaving to Andros's room, she saw him, at the doorway. It was as he was a little afraid of coming in.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?" – She asked. Andros nodded – "I need to stay here, Cassie" – He added – "I need to protect her, at least now. Protect her from all the nightmares and the pain this is going to cause her. I shouldn't have allowed this to happen"

She understood him – "But Andros… No one knew that Brad was capable of doing something like this."

"Zhane never liked him." – Andros stated.

"Yeah, I know." – Cassie sighed. – "Well, if you need anything, I'm just next door okay, Andros? Please call me."

"Don't worry. Good night Cassie"

She entered his room and he stood in that doorway for a minute longer, before getting in. Ashley was asleep on the bed, with her face turned to him. He could see the bruises on her cheeks, from what he concluded had been Brad's punches, when he tried to silence her. It broke his heart to she her, lying there, so vulnerable.

He sat on the rocking chair that was in front of the bed and stared at the floor. Her screams earlier were still haunting him. He had felt so utterly helpless, like the day Karone had been kidnapped, ten years before.

Suddenly, he remembered what had happened, when he and Brad had been teleported out of the Megaship.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_**What do you want, you alien?" – Brad asked him, touching his mouth. The last punch Andros had delivered had opened his lip and it was now bleeding.**_

"_**You shouldn't have tried that" – Andros told him – "You'll regret it"**_

"_**Are you going to kill me?" – Brad teased – "You can't do it. You're as weak as that screaming bitch!"**_

_**Andros lost his mind and grabbed Brad's throat – "Don't you dare to call Ashley that, ever again!" – He hissed. **_

_**Brad released himself and pinned Andros. They changed punches for a while, on the floor, until Andros kicked him off and got up. He turned around and was about to leave, when he heard the sound of a knife and felt a cold blade on his neck.**_

"_**You're not going anywhere, alien!"**_

_**Andros dropped an elbow at Brad's stomach and twisted his arm around his back. "Bad move, Brad, bad move" – He whispered. He could feel his anger rising in his body. He reached for his morpher and teleported to NASADA, taking Brad with him.**_

_**(End Flashback)**_

Andros opened his eyes. He had left Brad on NASADA and had told the General all that had happened, that evening. Brad was now under arrest, for had tried to rape a Ranger and attacking another.

"I should have killed him" – Andros thought. He mentally revised Ashley's face when they had gotten into the room. And, with her scared face on his mind, he slowly fell asleep.

**(A Few Hours Later)**

Andros woke up, not knowing where he was. It took him a minute to recall that he was in Cassie's room. He looked up and saw that Ashley was still sleeping. But, suddenly, she started to move abruptly. He got up and approached her – "Ashley?"

She was probably having a nightmare and she started screaming – "NO! Get off me!"

Andros shook her gently – "Ash, wake up."

She was twisting on the bed, and kept shouting – "LET ME GO!" He could see that she was panicking by the look on her face. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw him but she didn't recognize him and kicked his belly – "GET OFF ME!"

Andros leaned forward – "Ashley, it's me, Andros! No one is going to hurt you. You're safe now!"

She finally realized who was there – "Andros?" When she saw his face, clearly, she started crying – "I—I thought you were… you were... him" – she apologized.

"Don't worry. You're safe now" – He tried to comfort her, the best he could, but it was so hard to see her like that. He didn't know how to act, how to help her. All he wanted to do was held her close to him; drown a little bit of the pain she was feeling.

Ashley lied down and curled up, pushing her legs to her chest. She was fighting to keep her tears inside, but she couldn't do it anymore, so she just let them come out. Andros sat on the bed and stroked her hair – "Everything will be okay Ashley. I promise" – He kissed her forehead – "I won't allow anything happen to you."

Moments later, Ashley had fallen asleep again, comforted by his words.


	19. Chapter 19: Feelings Confessed: Part I

Chapter 19: Feelings Confessed: Part I

After certifying that she was in a deep sleep, Andros got up, carefully, trying not to wake her up. He left the room, taking direction of Ashley's room. Deep inside, he was feeling a dead wish of looking at it. The will that was burning in his chest directed him to the 'crime scene'. His heartache only got bigger, when he entered Ashley's room and saw, lying on one chair, the blouse she usually wore under her jacket, all ripped.

Regretting had coming in there, and feeling choked by the atmosphere, Andros left the room and went to the holding bay. _"Probably, the others should be awake soon_" – He thought. He sat down and tried to eat something. He was finishing his breakfast, when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.

"Hey, good morning!" – Cassie greeted him – "Sorry if I scared you." – she apologized.

"No problem, you didn't!"

"How was the night? Did you get any sleep?"

"Not much. Ashley woke up in the middle of the night, screaming, with a nightmare." – He sighed – "It really broke my heart. She kicked me, when I tried to awake her. I promised her that everything would be okay and calmed her a little, the best I could, but I really don't know…"

"Hey…" – She put her hands on his shoulder – "Don't worry Andros, we're here."

He nodded – "Well, I have some stuff to do on the bridge… could you stay with her for a couple of hours?" – He asked.

"Of course. I'll just eat something and I'll check her in a minute."

"Thanks." – Andros turned around and left the holding bay, walking towards the bridge, trying to focus on all the work he had to do, that day.

**(About forty-five minutes later)**

The Rangers were all awake at the time and were working on the bridge. The only ones that were missing were Ashley and Cassie. When the Pink Ranger entered the bridge, they turned around, hoping to hear good news from their friend's condition.

"Yeah..." – Cassie smiled – "I was able to get her out of bed and make her eat something. She's getting dressed."

They all sighed in relief. They had been wondering how this attempt of rape would affect Ashley, but fortunately she seemed to be handling it.

Suddenly, the computer beeped.

"Incoming transmission." – DECA warned.

"Put it on the main screen, DECA!" – Andros ordered.

The face of the chairman of NASADA appeared in the screen – "Good Morning Rangers."

"Good Morning Sir." – They greeted. Then TJ asked – "How can we help you?"

"Well, the guy that was dropped here yesterday, and charged in some very serious accusations will be presented to the judge next week. Until then he will remain suspended here, in the base. I just wanted to inform you." – He explained.

They all stared at Andros. They didn't know that he had taken Brad to NASADA. _"What accusations is he talking about? What did you do yesterday?"_ – Zhane questioned his friend.

"Thank you sir. I'm... I mean, we're all glad to hear that." – Andros told the man on the screen.

"Don't have to thank. But, before ending this transmission, the guy says he wants to say something to you…May I put him on?"

Andros felt anger starting to pulse in his veins again. Carlos and TJ looked at each other, fearing his reaction. He took a deep breath before answering – "Yes sir."

Brad's face appeared on the screen. Zhane couldn't help but smile a little. _"You beat him bad bro… Way to go!"_ – He thought.

Brad was pitiable. He had his top lip busted open, and a huge cut on his left cheek, from his eye to his mouth.

"Look, your alien…" – He started speaking, furiously – "Don't you dare to even think that I'm not going to have my revenge."

"You must be forgetting that you're going to jail, you freak!" – Carlos accused.

He kept talking with Andros, like there was no else in the room. They could notice is hate for the Red Ranger, in each word he said – "You and that screamy little bitch will pay… and believe me; it will cost a lot to both of you. Mostly her. Don't you think you saved her…"

"You…" – Andros was about to answer, when they heard the noise of glass breaking. They turned around and saw Ashley standing there. She had held in her right hand, a glass with water, which she had dropped, causing the noise. Her face was pale, a death pale and she stood there, fixing the screen.

"End of transmission." – DECA's voice echoed in the room. A deep silence had been installed, since the moment they had noticed Ashley's presence.

"Ash… are you okay?" – TJ dared to ask, after a while.

She seemed to have woken and looked at him – "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. I just got…uh… surprised to see his… his condition." – She answered, referring to his wounds.

Andros blushed. "Oh Andros... you have some bruises too. No! You didn't…" – Ashley realized that Andros's bottom lip was still looking pretty ugly.

He rubbed the back of his neck – "Actually, I kind of did…"

"You shouldn't have. He…"

Andros cut her off – "I don't regret it. I just wish I would have beaten him more."

Ashley leaned her face down. She turned around and said, in a low voice "Come with me, let's take care of that... it looks bad!"

"But Cassie already…"

It was her time to cut him off – "Come on!"

Andros followed her to the infirmary – "Ashley, it really is nothing. It just a little…"

"Thanks." – She whispered. She turned to him, with a band-aid on her hand and tears on her eyes – "For doing that for me."

He had her sit down, by his side and held her hand – "I would do that again, all the times that would have been needed."

Ashley bit her lip as Andros kept talking – "I need to apologize to you. I acted like an idiot before but I'm paying a high price now. I'm so sorry Ashley. If I hadn't done…"

"Schh." – She murmured – "Don't say anything more. You don't need to apologize. I was the one who acted badly. I shouldn't have kissed you in first place; I don't know what passed through my mind back then."

"Don't worry." – Andros kissed her forehead and she hugged him tight. After a while, he pulled back – "You know, we'll have to go to his trial…"

She nodded. – "Yeah… but will I have to tell them all that happened?" – She asked, tears trying to come out of her eyes – "Andros, I don't wanna…"

"Schh… It's okay." – He whipped her tears away – "We'll figure this out… together."

**(That Night)**

Zhane was lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He turned to the door, when he heard a knock.

"Hey, are you up?" – Cassie asked, from the doorway.

"Yeah, come on in." – He answered. She entered the room and sat on his bed – "You've been very quiet today. Did something happen?"

He sat up – "No, I think I'm just… shocked. I never thought Brad could do something like that. I'm glad we arrived on time."

"Yeah, me too. You can't imagine how hard it was for me, so see Ashley, like she was yesterday." – She sighed – "Well, I was passing and saw that you had the lights on… Good Night!" – She stood up.

"Uh... Cass?"

"Yeah?" – She turned to him again.

"There… there's something I want to tell you. Can you sit here for a minute longer?" – He asked. He had never been so shy with a girl before – _"What's happening with me? I'm becoming Andros."_

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well, I... I was thinking and…" – He hesitated before he kept going on – _"Damn."_

"And…"

"… Since we were supposed to go out last night, I thought that maybe we could reschedule it for tomorrow?"

Cassie smiled. – "Sure. I'm going to talk with the others. It will be nice, to forget about what happened."

Zhane leaned his face down and bit his lip. – "I was kind of talking about both of us…"

She blushed. – "You mean, like a date?"

He nodded and quickly added. – "But if you don't want to go, I totally understand."

Cassie gave him a quizzical look. – "Why wouldn't I want to go?"

He sighed. – "Andros told me about that Phantom guy…"

"_Oh no…"_ – She thought. She approached him. – "Zhane, if I told you I didn't felt anything for Phantom, I would be lying… However, one thing is for sure: I don't feel it anymore. I overcame it when I met someone, some time ago."

Zhane leaned his face down again. She touched his hand and made him face her. – "You." – She whispered.

He looked to her eyes, amazed. They started to lean forward, slowly, and their lips touched. Cassie moved closer to him and he got her straddled his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Zhane set his hands on her waist. After a while, he pulled back, only to look to her eyes, once again. She was smiling.

_**A/N:** _19th Chapter. Hope you liked it. Please, review!


	20. Chapter 20: The Trial

Chapter 20: The Trial

Three weeks had passed. Brad had been presented to the judge, who had scheduled his trial to that day. All the Rangers had been called to testify against him. They had decided to go in only when the prosecutor asked for them, and were waiting outside the courtroom. Only Ashley was inside, as she had been the main victim of Brad's actions.

"I hope everything goes right" – Carlos spoke to the others, trying to cut off a little bit of the tension.

"Yeah." – They said at one voice.

Moments later, Andros got up and said – "Maybe we should get going… they will probably be calling us out soon."

They nodded. Just as they were getting in the room, the prosecutor was saying – "I would like to call now an eye witness, Miss Cassie Chan"

Cassie took a deep breath and went sit on the judge's left side.

"Miss Chan" – The prosecutor started – "Could you tell us what happened that evening?"

"When we arrived to the Megaship, we heard some screams. Later, we found out that was Ashley who was screaming, asking for help. We ran there and realized that the door was locked from the inside. She kept screaming and Brad's voice could be heard too, as he kept ordering her to stay quiet. "

"And were you able to get in?" – He continued.

"Yes. When we opened the door, they were lying on her bed. He was…" – She paused and looked for Zhane in the audience. When her eyes reached his, she found a new strength and kept going – "Sorry. He was trying to violate her"

"What happened next?"

"My friends took him away and I stayed with her. Only later I was informed that he had tried to attack Andros."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Miss Chan" – The prosecutor turned to the judge – "I have no further questions".

The judge turned to Brad's lawyer – "Do you want to inquire Miss Chan?" – He asked.

"Yes, I do your honour." – He stood up, buttoned his suit and walked to Cassie – "Good Morning, Miss Chan"

Cassie's hands were resting on her lap and she started to twist her fingers – "Good Morning." – She swallowed the lump that had risen on her throat – _"Hard part is coming… calm down Cassie, you can do it!"_ – She thought to herself.

"So, you've said that my client was trying to... well, he was trying to take advantage of Miss Hammond, is that correct?"

"Yes Sir, it is correct"

"But how do you know that?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I will reformulate the question: how do you know that he was trying to take advantage of her? I mean, they dated, they are both seventeen… I think it's normal that they would want to take their relationship further. Don't you agree, Miss Chan?"

"OBJECTION! He is assuming things he can't be sure!" – The prosecutor intertwined.

"Sustained. Moderate your words, Mr. Jones!" – The judge warned.

"I'm sorry. I'll make another question. Miss Chan, did you see the fight that, apparently, occurred between my client and Mr. Karovan?"

"No, Sir, I didn't." – She was getting even more nervous, she had found out which way that damm lawyer was going to take.

"So you aren't sure that that fight really happened? You can't prove it, is that correct?" – He kept questioning her, not caring that she was losing control.

"No, I can't prove it."

"Well, Miss Chan, what I want to prove now is that my client, not only didn't try to rape Miss Hammond, as he just responded to Mr Karovan, like he told me. According to Mr. Lynch, Mr. Karovan attacked him and all he did was defend himself. And I'll prove it!" - Then, he turned back to the judge – "I have no further questions, you honour."

"You are dismissed, Miss Chan. Thank you for your cooperation!" – The judge told her.

Cassie nodded, stood up, and walked to the door. She needed to catch some fresh air. Discreetly, Zhane stood up too and went after her.

"Cassie, wait…" – He called.

She turned around, in the middle of the hall and he could see that she was about to cry.

"I… I ruined it all!" – She sighed and tears started to come out – "I ruined it all!" – She repeated.

"Come here!" – Zhane hugged her and stroke her hair – "The guy screwed it all. We didn't see this coming and you were nervous…"

"Zhane…" – She interrupted him – "That guy is going to come out. He is going to be released. All because I'm not strong enough to keep myself away from being affected by some lawyer. What kind of Ranger am I?"

"Listen to me. He's not going to be released!" – He made her face him – "Okay? Everything is going to be fine. Brad is going to go to prison for what he did to Ashley and Andros. And don't you say, ever again, that you're not a good Ranger, Cassie, because you are. One of the best Rangers I've ever met!"

She sighed and made him hug her again – "Thank you!" – She whispered.

----

TJ had been called to testify. Ashley was sitting next to Andros, trying not to let her emotions come out, but it was getting harder and harder, as the trial was passing.

Andros was still, not moving even a muscle. Just watching Brad sitting there, as his attorney was taking the Rangers down, one by one, made him desire to have killed him, that night, three weeks before. He was afraid that Brad could be released and the consequences that it could have on Ashley. She had recovered slowly; she was almost the same Ashley that had caught his attention since the first glance, but he knew that deep inside, she was still scared, very scared.

In front of them, TJ stood tranquil, answering to the prosecutor's questions. When it came the time for Brad's attorney, they could notice that the Blue Ranger had gotten a little bit nervous, but dissembled it well.

"So Mr Johnson… for how long have you known Miss Hammond?" – He started.

"Almost five years, Sir" – TJ answered, staring at him.

"And, can you tell me how many boyfriends did Miss Hammond have meanwhile?"

"OBJECTION! Why does this matter for the case?" – The prosecutor interrupted once again.

"Denied. Make your point clearer, Mr Jones!" – The judge ordered.

"Sure, your honour. What I meant to inquire was if they were in a low number or in a high number?"

TJ looked at Ashley and Andros, not knowing what to say - "I only met two. One of them was Carlos, our teammate, and the other was Brad."

"Only to boyfriends in five years…" – The attorney murmured. He took a break, as if he was thinking about another way to take Ashley down, and then he continued – "Would you describe Miss Hammond as a provocative person?"

Ashley's heart almost stopped beating. The pain and the humiliation she was feeling were much bigger than she had ever imagined. She lowered her head and let a lonely tear come out. Unconsciously, she touched Andros's hand and he, feeling her touch, looked to her and noticed her condition. He held her hand tight, trying to comfort her – _"Please Ashley, don't let them get over you."_ – He, mentally, begged her – _"You're stronger than that!"_

"_Man, I don't think I can manage this through!"_ – TJ thought, before answering – "No, Sir."

"And Mr Karovan... For how long have you known him?"

"For a couple of months."

"Can you tell me, Mr Johnson, what happened that day?" – The attorney continued.

TJ took a deep breath, before telling the whole story; what they have seen when they arrived, the trouble that it was to unlock the door, how he, Zhane and Carlos had gotten Brad off of Ashley and how Andros had teleported himself out of the Megaship.

"And did you see that fight between him and my client?"

"No, Sir, I didn't. But I saw what Brad tried to do to Ashley and I saw the way he was beating her and how she was, after all this." – TJ couldn't control himself anymore. Damn it, Ashley was his friend; he would not allow that stupid lawyer to say what the hell he wanted about her.

"Mr Johnson, I would advise you to calm down or I'll have to make you leave the room!" – The judge warned.

"Sorry, your honour." – TJ apologized.

"I have no further questions, you honour. The witness can be dismissed."

"Alright. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr Johnson. You may go."

TJ got up and, just as Cassie and Carlos had done moments earlier, he walked off the room and, already outside, punched the nearest wall – _"Damn it!"_

"I would like to call now Mr Karovan." – The prosecutor informed.

Letting go of Ashley's hand, Andros got up and went sit next to the judge. The prosecutor stood up and started his questions – "Mr Karovan, could you describe me what happened, that afternoon, after you and Mr Lynch got out to the Ship?"

"I asked DECA, our Main Control, to teleport us to these coordinates, the ones I had dialled in my communicator. I was so furious that, I have to admit, I was the one who started the fight. Rage was all over me and I couldn't control myself."

"And then?"

"Well, after a while, I turned around and I was about to return to the Megaship and to my duties, when he grabbed a knife and almost slid my throat. Then I decided I wouldn't let him get away with his. I was thinking to stop by NASADA and accuse him, but I got him and brought him with me. I hope he pays for all he did." – He stated.

"Well, I guess I have no further questions, you honour."

"Do you want to question this witness, Mr Jones?"

"Yes, I do." – For the fourth time that day, the attorney stood up and buttoned his suit – "Mr Karovan, do you love Miss Hammond?"

"_What the hell is this?"_ – Andros thought, without answering.

"OBJECTION! What does this have to do with the case?"

"Sustained. Mr Jones, please, stick to the relevant."

"I apologize, your honour. Mr Karovan… Why did you get so furious with Mr Lynch?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'll repeat the question… Why did you get so furious with Mr Lynch? I mean, he and Miss Hammond were dating. Eventually, they would end up taking their relationship to the next level. Why does that got you so mad?"

"He was forcing her to take that step!" – Andros snapped. He was feeling so disgusted by Brad and his damn lawyer, that he was about to throw up.

"How do you know, Mr Karovan?"

"Because we saw it! As my friends told you three times during this session, we saw it! He had pinned her and smacked her. HE WAS TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER! Why don't you get it?" – Andros asked, his entire body was shaking from all the anger that had started pulsing on his veins. He was reviewing the whole scene on his mind, as he had done each night, since that day.

"Mr Karovan, call down!" – The judge intertwined.

Andros nodded, and swallowed the lump that had formed on his throat.

"You still haven't answered to my question…"

Andros looked up and saw Ashley standing here, alone, with her hazel eyes staring at him, all her faith entrusted on him and his testimony. He remembered all the tears she had shed, all the screams she had shouted, in the middle of the night, all consequences of those terrible nightmares that had stalked her during the first week. No, he decided, he wouldn't let her down. He wouldn't disappoint her, not now, not again! He couldn't allow that bastard to make Ashley lose her laughter and all those beautiful characteristics that had made him fall in love with her.

"Yes Sir, I think I did answer to your question." – He said, looking straight on the lawyer's eyes.

Brad waved to his lawyer and secretly told him something on his ear that made him smile, ironically.

"Why were you so mad about it? Why can't you stand the fact that Miss Hammond can be lying? Why can't you accept that my client did nothing wrong?" – The attorney was walking in front of him, raising his voice – "Why Mr Karovan?"

Andros didn't answer immediately – "Because…" – He started, after a while. However, the attorney cut him off.

"Is it because Miss Hammond is your friend? Would you act the same way if it was Miss Chan the victim? Or there is something more? Is the fact that it was a fight between you and Miss Hammond that caused her leaving the team for a while relevant to this? Did you feel guilty for what happened and tried to make good impression? Or did you regret all you've done to Miss Hammond and tried to get her to forgive you by beating her boyfriend? That way, you could comfort Miss Hammond, wasn't it?"

"NO!" – Andros shouted and stood up – "What the hell are you speaking about? Are you trying to blame ME for what that bastard tried to do to her? HE was the one who tried to assault her, not ME!!"

The attorney kept going, ignoring Andros's explosion. Even the judge was quiet and didn't warn Andros. He was completely stunned with the anger and the hate that was emerging from the Red Ranger, as Brad's lawyer was speaking to him, accusing him.

"Was it because it was a broken kiss that caused Miss Hammond to leave, heartbroken, and you now, surprisingly, found out that you were jealous of her having a new boyfriend?"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" – Andros exploded – "For God's sake, it has nothing to do with this! Brad tried to rape Ashley, in front of us. What did you want me to do? To stand there, enjoying the show?" – He snapped, losing control. He could see Ashley staring at him, completely stunned, as all Rangers – "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I cannot see a man trying to take advantage of a woman and do nothing! I'm not that kind of guy. It's the most disgusting crime I've heard about, and you're trying to defend it, by accusing me? Instead of doing that, look to the man you have on your side… and understand one thing… He's only alive because I was able to calm down that day. Otherwise, he would be dead, by now! Because, I swear to God, that I would have killed him that moment!"

"Mr. Karovan…" – The judge started, but he was speechless, as everybody in the room.

"Yeah? Oh sorry. Well, your honour, you made me swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing more than the truth, right? Well, I just did!"

**A/N:** Hope you liked it. No, I'm not revelling the jury's decision until next chapter. You'll have to wait and read it. Please, review!


	21. Chapter 21: Feelings Confessed: Part II

**A/N:** _This is the last chapter that I already wrote for this story. I have on my mind two or three more chapters and then this will be over. However, lately, I've been working on another story, that will be posted after this one, and I must confess that I've been ignoring chapter 22 of this. I apologize to everyone who likes this story (yeah, right, this stupid story with a stupid plot) and I promise that I'll try to finish the next three chapters as soon as possible. I'm sorry._

_By the way, if you want to know what 'Lips of an Angel' (my next story) is all about, go to YouTube and watch the trailer. My name there is 'alexandracf'. See ya!_

Chapter 21: Feelings Confessed: Part II

"All rise!"

All people in the courtroom stood up when the judge entered the room, followed by the members of the jury. It had been almost an hour since they had left, to ponder the decision. After his testimony, Andros had returned to Ashley's side and they were, now, holding hands again, waiting for the verdict. Innocent or guilty? The decision of those twelve human beings would influence both of their lives. Brad had threatened to come after Ashley, more than once, and she was really scared, everybody could notice it. Of course, the Megaship was a safe place, cause he could only get in there being teleported by DECA or one of the Rangers, but she still had to go to school! And over there, neither Andros would be able to protect her for one hundred percent. Oh, how she regretted it now, to have introduced Brad to the others. _"Why did I let myself go?"_ – She had wondered millions of times, since that night. She barely knew him; she was just mad and shattered by Andros' attitude. She had been so silly. She had never felt anything for Brad that she could consider more than sympathy. Okay, maybe could have been a little crush. However, the man she really loved was Andros. He had assumed that place on her life since the first second, and that coward would never be able to take him off that place. Never! If only she could tell him that…

"Has the jury come to a decision?" – The judge asked.

Ashley's pressure on Andros hand became stronger. She was, indeed, hurting him, but he couldn't care less. She leaned her face down and closed her eyes. That evening tormented her, one more time. _"This is the last time you're making me suffer like this, Brad Lynch!"_ – She mentally decided, after have relived all the moments of that traumatic episode, as a lonely tear escaped. Now was the moment of the truth.

"Yes, you honour. We, members of the jury, consider the defendant, Brad Lynch, guilty of all charges."

Ashley looked up and opened her eyes – _"Did I hear properly?"_ – She asked herself. Then, she looked at Andros, that was standing right there, and to the other Rangers. They gave her the certainty that she had heard properly.

Andros expelled the air on his lungs and let out a sigh of relief. It was over, finally!

"WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" – Brad screamed, desperately – "You believe that screamy little bitch and her alien friend? How can you believe them?"

"Mr. Jones please, control your client!"

"SHE ASKED FOR IT! SHE WAS ALWAYS SO PROVOCATIVE! SHE WAS TORTURING ME! SHE WANTED ME TO DO IT! SHE'S A WHORE!!!" – He snapped, when the guards were dragging him out of the room.

Andros released Ashley's hand and approached Brad – "You're disgusting!" – He said.

"Don't you think you saved your pretty little Ash… I'll get her, one day. And I'll make her pay. It will be hundred times worse than it was… And she will beg me to stop…"

Coming from out of nowhere, Andros's fist hit him hard in the face, cutting him off – "I think I warned you, that day, to never, EVER, speak of her like that… If you open your mouth again, Brad…"

"What? Are you going to kill me?"

"You can really bet I'll try to kill you!" – He hissed.

"Andros…" – Ashley gasped – "Please, don't! Leave him. I don't care."

"But, we do, Ash. He can't speak about you like that." – Zhane said, passing her, to go calm his friend – "He's going to spend the next eleven years in jail, paying for his actions… Don't waste energy with this piece of…"

"Piece of what, blondie? I would step back, if I were you, little girl!" – Brad turned his attention to Zhane.

Zhane reached for collar of Brad's shirt and pushed him to the nearest wall – "Be careful man… I'm not a patient guy." – He whispered, slowly – "I might have been asleep for almost two years, but I'm awake now and I really don't like you. So, think twice before you open your mouth and insult my friends again… Oh, you wouldn't want to mess with me, would you?"

"Zhane let him go!" – Cassie intervened. Zhane released Brad and let the guards take him away. Then, he turned to the others – "Let's go? There's no reason for us to stay here."

They nodded and left the court.

**(Back in the Megaship)**

"Ai yi yi, Rangers, how did it go?" – Alpha asked, anxious, when they entered the bridge.

"I think it went quite well. He will spend the next years in a reformatory, until he's 21, and then, some years in jail." – TJ informed.

"Oh... good!" – Alpha said, relieved.

"Do you guys want something to eat? It's kind of late and none of us ate a decent meal today…"

"Yeah, Cassie, that's a good idea. We need some energy." – TJ pointed.

"I'm not hungry." – Ashley had a tired look on her face – "I'm going to take a shower and then I think I'm going to get some sleep. Wake me in a few hours, would you Cass?"

"Sure. Go rest a little bit. You, definitely, need it."

Ashley left the bridge and took direction of her room. Once inside, she threw her purse to the nearest chair and took off her jacket. _"It's over now, Ashley. You can live normally and freely, from now on. The nightmare is over!"_ – She thought to herself. She opened her closet, took her uniform and stopped in front of the mirror. She pulled her hair up in a ponytail and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. Certainly, the hot water would be able to comfort her and wash away all the tears, once and for all.

Thirty minutes later, she got out of the bathroom and let herself fall into the bed. In a matter of minutes, she was in a deep sleep, free of nightmares, for the first time in weeks.

A few hours later, Andros was standing at the door of Ashley's room. The images of that night came to his mind but soon he waved them away. It didn't matter anymore. He was going to do the right thing. For once, he was going to act properly and confess his feelings. It had to work, this time. At least, Zhane had said it would.

_**(Flashback)**_

"_**Man, you have to open up for her. You have to trust her. Cassie and I were speaking, a few days ago, and she told me she is sure that Ashley likes you. Come on, they have been best friends for the past years, she knows what she's talking about…"**_

"_**You sure?" – He had asked, fearful.**_

"_**Yes, I am. After screwing it all up, like you did, four months ago, this is the least you can do. If Ashley is the girl you want, you have to act; you have to fight for her. Do something for yourself, and stop worrying about the consequences!"**_

_**(End of Flashback)**_

Andros took a deep breath before asking DECA to open up the doors. Cassie had let him be the one to wake Ashley. She knew that he wanted to talk with the Yellow Ranger and that they would need some privacy so she had told him to go wake her. _"It's now or never…" _– He thought.

"DECA, can you please open the doors?" – He questioned.

"Sure. Ashley is still asleep." – DECA informed him.

"I suspected that. I'll wake her."

He entered the room and lightened the little lamp in her bedside table. "Ashley…" – He called, in a low tone.

She opened her eyes. "You asked Cassie to wake you. You've been sleeping the whole afternoon. It's almost dinner time and you barely ate today. You need to feed properly."

She sat on the bed and rubbed her eyes – "Thanks. I really needed some hours of sleep."

"Yeah, you definitely did." – Andros smiled, briefly. Then, an anxious look took his face.

"Are you okay?" – She asked.

"Yeah." – He faced her and finally spoke - "Ash… we need to talk."

"Did something happen?" – She asked, a little nervous. _"Why is he so serious?"_

"No. Well, in fact, yes." – Andros got up – _"Damn, this sounded really stupid!"_

"You're getting me confused, Andros. And worried. What happened?"

"Do you remember when we kissed?"

Ashley blushed. A lump started to form on her throat – "I thought we were already over it."

"Let me finish… Back then, I pulled back because…" – Andros took a break – _"Because I'm an idiot!" _- He muttered to himself.

"Because…"

"Well, because it was the first time I was being kissed and I totally freaked out."

"_What?"_ – Ashley thought.

"But I didn't quite thought about the consequences that my stupidity could bring. Then you left and I… I completely regretted it. Only during those months you were away I figured out that…" – _"Come on Andros, you can do this. You've fought over twenty monsters without help; you can tell her you love her…"_

"You figured what?" – Ashley was getting really, really scared about what Andros was about to say.

"I figured that I had made the biggest mistake of my whole life!" – Finally, he started speaking, so fast that she could barely understand him – "I… I love you, Ash. Yeah, that's right. I love you and I was so dumb that I let you leave. When you returned and I saw that Brad was your boyfriend, I thought… well I don't know what I thought... I just wanted to kill him that night. I'd rather die then let something bad happen to you and he… he made me feel a kind of rage and hate that I had never felt before. As you made feel a type of happiness and joy that I had never felt before too. When I'm near you, I can't explain how I feel. My legs, they tremble. My voice, it fades, each time you look to me with those amazing chocolate eyes." – He took another deep breath, before going on - "I love you… but I guess now it's too late."

Ashley was shocked. She stood there, thinking about what Andros had just said, for what it seemed an eternity to him. After a while, he turned around and was about to leave the room when he heard her voice – "No, it's not."

He turned back, so he was facing her, and was completely dazed. Ashley got up from the bed and walked to him, repeating – "No, it's not."

Andros stared at her eyes, for a while, and suddenly, a little known voice started muttering on his mind – _"Kiss her, your stupid stripey!"_

He leaned forward and kissed her. Ashley kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"_Finally!"_ – The voice added.

"_Back off Zhane!"_ – Andros muttered. This was the best feeling he had ever felt.

**_A/N:_** 21th Chapter. I hope you liked it. Finally, they made things clear between them. YAY! Review, please.


	22. Chapter 22: Destruction of the Psychos

**A very special thanks to everyone who read this story until now and waited these six long months to read the final chapters. Thank you guys!**

**Chapter 22: The Destruction of the Psychos**

The morning after, the Rangers were hanging at the holding bay. While the boys were planning a new strategy to defeat the Psychos, Ashley and Cassie were studying and doing the homework they had been avoiding the past days. Only Andros hadn't come out of his room, that morning.

Lying on his bed, already dressed and ready to go work, Andros was staring at the ceiling with a smile on his face. For the first time in a long time, he was feeling really happy. His dumbness hadn't brought any consequences: Ashley liked him, as much as he liked her. Andros was flying higher than ever before, feeling free as a bird in spring.

"Are you thinking about actually work today?" – DECA asked him. She was glad to see Andros this happy and decided to tease him a little bit. There had been a time where DECA had despised Ashley, but she had realized that it wasn't just Ashley who had been acting stupid.

Andros laughed. He got up, pulled his hair in a ponytail and turned to red eye in the wall – "Yeah, I am thinking about actually work today. I just don't know when I'm going to start that… I have wasted a lot of time lately and now I'm going to get it back! See you later, DECA!" – He said, and left the room.

He went meet the others at the holding bay. When Andros arrived there, he headed to the empty place next to Ashley, waving to the others – "Good Morning guys!" - Then, he leaned to the right and kissed her – "Hey Ash!"

Cassie and Zhane shared a glance and smiled, when they say Carlos and TJ's faces after the kiss. They knew that those two had made up and finally confessed their feelings for each other, but the Black and the Blue Ranger haven't heard of that.

"Wait a minute… what did just happen here?" – Carlos asked, confused.

Ashley and Andros looked at each other for a second, before kissing again. After pulling back, Ashley turned to Carlos – "Got it now?"

"So, are you guys…?" – TJ asked, with a grin.

Andros passed his arm around Ashley's shoulders and, at the same time, he answered – "Yeah…"

"Finally!" – The two male Rangers exclaimed – "It was about time!"

Andros blushed a little but soon he was smiling again. Ashley was sitting next to him, with her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist: she was his. A weird, new feeling was taking over him and, for the first time in his life, Andros let himself go and be controlled by that amazing happiness. He was going to take the chance of being happy!

----

Later that day, they were training some new moves on the Simudeck, under Andros' command, when the computer beeped.

"Psycho Black is at Angel Grove… and he's alone!" – DECA informed.

"I'm going to get that piece of steel and finish with him!" – Carlos hissed – "I'm sick of this!"

"Wait, we're coming with you!" – TJ added.

They ran to the jump tubes – "Let's Rocket!" – Andros shouted and they slid through the tubes, heading for Earth.

When they arrived at the place where Psycho Black was standing, throwing blasts randomly to the air, Andros muscles tensed – _"There's something wrong here…"_

"Oh, oh... Look who's here!" – Psycho Black was smiling to them – "Little Black Ranger and his mates!"

"Oh, oh… Look who's here!" – Carlos mimicked, teasing Psycho Black – "What do you want?"

"Guess!" – He grinned – "I want to finish with you!"

"You wish…" – Carlos shouted - "But, if you really have that desire, come here, try to get me!"

He didn't have to ask twice. Running as he had been hit with a blast, Psycho Black forgot that he was completely alone fighting six Rangers and tried to attack Carlos. They exchanged a couple of punches and the other Rangers were about to help Carlos when Andros made them stop, with a hand movement. _"Something is not right here, Zhane, please tell TJ and Cass to stay where they are…"_ – He mentally told his friend. Zhane looked at him and nodded.

Ashley pulled his arm – "Andros?" – She whispered.

"This is a trap…" – He answered. "There's something really wrong here… Psycho Black comes into the scene, alone, and we appear, the whole team… where are the other Psychos? They're trying to get us unaware, but they won't… Let's leave Carlos handling with Psycho Black alone, at least for now…"

Ashley nodded and they stood there, watching. Carlos was hanging on pretty well on his own but he was wondering why were they quiet and weren't helping him.

"What a nice group of friends you have… they're not even helping you!"

"Shut up. They're not helping me because I'm beating the hell out of you, so easily that I don't need their help… Where are your friends, by the way…? They are the ones that should be helping you, mate!" – Carlos said back, blocking a punch with his left arm and delivering one in his face with his right fist.

**(In the Dark Fortress)**

"My princess…" – Ecliptor called. "You may want to see this…"

Curious, Astronema got up from her chair and followed Ecliptor to the bridge of the Dark Fortress. What she saw amazed her and worried her at the same time. Psycho Black was fighting alone and the Black Ranger had just pinned him down so easily…

"_This doesn't go well with my plan to destroy Dark Spector…"_ – She spoke to herself – _"Where the hell are the other Psychos? One of them was already destroyed and I haven't finished the energy extraction…"_

"Ecliptor." – She called.

"Yes, my princess?"

"Where are the other Psychos?" – She asked.

"I don't know. Psycho Black has been fighting alone since the beginning… Do you want me to locate them?"

"Yes. Do that. And then bring them all here…" – She ordered – _"Those damn pieces of steel with legs aren't going to ruin my plan…" _- "No, wait… Don't bring them here. Sent them there…"

"As you wish, my princess."

Astronema stood there watching what was left of the fight. Minutes later, the Black Ranger delivered his final blow: taking a chance where Psycho Black was perplexed after a sequence of destroying punches and kicks, he shot the final blast that hit him on the open spot near his shoulder. The chain reaction that that blast started made her furious. Mere seconds later, Psycho Black had exploded and there was nothing she could do about it: it was one less Psycho to drain Dark Spector's energy. And now, with only three of them left, this task was getting even harder.

"_I WILL be the Queen of Evil… even if have to destroy Dark Spector with my own two hands, I will conquer the whole Universe."_

**(Later, on the Megaship)**

"I mean… wow!" – Cassie exclaimed.

"Yeah. They're gone!" – Ashley added, with a smile. "This nightmare is over… Who thought this could be so easy?"

"Well, I didn't for sure, but I'm glad that is over. The Psychos are gone and now we can go back to our search of Zordon." – T.J. answered, as Andros finished crossing the images from their board. "I'll reprogram the computers to search for him."

"Oh, good... Do that."

"I think I'm going to sleep a little. I'm a little tired, since I had to fight on my own for almost half an hour while you guys were just staring…" – Carlos said, suppressing a yawn.

The other laughed. They knew he was complaining but he wasn't offended by their actions. Andros had been wise: the remaining three Psychos (Blue, Pink and Red) had come out of their hidings not much after Carlos had shot the final blast against Psycho Black and now all five Rangers were fresh enough to take care of them.

And they had managed to do it: the reign of the Psycho Rangers was over… now they just had to put an end on Dark Spector's.

**(In the Dark Fortress)**

"Astronema!" – Dark Spector's angry, deep voice sounded everywhere in that room.

"_Dammit… not again!"_ – She thought to herself. She walked to the bridge and hear his complaints, once more, for about an hour this time. He had realized that his energy was being drowned through the Psycho Rangers, but fortunately, he hadn't managed to find out who was commanding that extraction.

"Are you hearing me, Astronema?" – He asked, after she had remained silent for too many minutes.

However, she wasn't. Something had caught her thoughts and she had been driven away from there… Really far away.

To KO-35 to be more precise…

**A/N:** Well, I know I left you waiting for such a long time that I probably shouldn't put a cliffie ending this chapter but I couldn't resist. Hope you like it. Review, please (if, after this sooo long hiatus, I still have any remaining readers, that is.)

This chapter is dedicated to the one and only **Phantom Rogue**, cause if I'm right, today it's her 18th birthday. For being such a good writer, friend and an inspiration (to me, at least)… Happy Birthday! I hope you have a very cheerful day and I hope that you liked your present too.

**A/N2: **There I go… I really only publish stories in my friend's 18th birthdays and now I'm only updating at those dates too…Goody! -rolls eyes-


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